LIBRARY 

TOTTVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
DAVIS 


r 


THE  FEDERAL  JUDGE 


A  NOVEL 


BY 


CHAELES  K.  LUSH 


If  he  had  been  as  you,  and  you  as  he, 
You  would  hare  slipp'd  like  him." 

Measure  for  Measure* 


BOSTON   AND   NEW   YORK 
HOUGHTON,  MIFFLTN  AND   COMPANY 


1897 


COPYRIGHT    1897    BY  CHARLES  K.   LUSH 
ALL  RIGHTS  RESERVED 


ACKNOWLEDGMENT 

THIS  book  was  written  in  collaboration  with  a 
friend  who  feels  that  his  share  of  the  work  would 
be  unduly  magnified  were  his  name  to  appear  as 
one  of  its  authors.  I  wish,  however,  to  acknowledge 
my  indebtedness  to  him  for  a  careful  editing  of  my 
manuscript,  for  contributions  to  several  chapters, 
and  for  kindly  counsel  and  encouragement. 

CHARLES  K.  LUSH. 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 


CHAPTEK  I 

THE  weather  is  not  an  important  factor  in  this 
tale,  —  if  the  following  record  of  events,  set  down 
in  their  order  and  influencing  one  another  so  as  to 
produce  other  events,  may  be  correctly  called  a 
tale,  —  yet  such  was  the  beauty  of  the  September 
morning  when  our  chronicle  begins,  that  it  is  per- 
haps just  as  well  to  allude  to  it.  One  delights  to 
set  sail  or  to  start  on  a  long  journey  under  a  fair 
sky ;  and  as  there  are  shadows  as  well  as  sunshine 
in  the  lives  of  those  with  whom  we  are  soon  to 
become  acquainted,  it  is  well  to  begin  with  the 
sunshine  in  order  to  have  an  account  to  the  good. 

This  particular  day  in  September  was  the  first 
day  of  the  calendar  in  the  circuit  court  of  Stall- 
worth  County,  presided  over  by  Judge  Tracy 
Dunn.  Bowerville,  the  county  seat,  and  there- 
fore the  place  of  holding  court,  was  not  a  small 
town,  and  neither  was  it  large.  It  had  reached 
that  stage  where,  figuratively  speaking,  it  still  wore 
knickerbockers,  but  felt  big  enough  for  long  trou- 
sers. Nestled  in  the  valley  of  a  river  that  had 
long  since  ceased  to  supply  the  water-power  which 


2  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

had  influenced  the  early  settlers  in  selecting  the 
locality  as  a  town  site,  it  was  one  of  the  most  pic- 
turesque and  thriving  of  the  small  cities  of  the 
Northwest.  It  was  an  old  town,  as  age  is  reck- 
oned in  the  Northwest,  and  the  prevailing  style  of 
architecture  was  of  that  simple  type  which  shows 
in  itself  the  rigidity  of  the  Puritan,  softened  by 
the  touch  of  far-back  ancestral  influence  that  made 
itself  felt  in  feeble  attempts  at  ornamentation  in 
the  form  of  little  scallopy  roof  trimmings  and  a 
veranda  extending  along  the  entire  front  of  the 
house,  invariably  reached  by  ascending  three  steps 
from  the  ground. 

In  one  of  these  houses  Judge  Tracy  Dunn  had 
made  his  home  for  the  last  quarter  of  a  century. 
He  was,  at  the  half  way  stile  between  fifty  and 
sixty,  as  rugged,  physically,  as  a  grizzly  bear,  for 
he  had  unto  himself  an  hygienic  code  which,  among 
other  observances,  prescribed  the  chopping  of  a 
certain  amount  of  wood  every  morning  before 
breakfast,  rain  or  shine,  winter  and  summer.  No 
one  had  ever  discovered  by  what  mental  process  of 
measurement  the  judge  always  managed  to  pro- 
duce exactly  the  same  quantity  of  chopped  and 
split  oak  or  maple  each  day.  Neither  had  any 
one  around  the  premises  ever  been  able  to  deter- 
mine just  what  fraction  of  a  cord  that  quantity 
was.  As  the  hired  man  expressed  it,  there  was 
always  "jest  enough  to  fill  the  two  wood-boxes 
three  times,  and  a  few  hunks  for  the  big  stove  in 
the  settin'-room." 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  O 

Judge  Dunn  was  slightly  below  the  average 
man  of  the  West  in  height,  —  which  by  no  means 
implies  that  he  was  small  of  stature,  for  what  he 
lacked  in  height  he  made  up  in  breadth  of  shoul- 
der and  general  massiveness  of  frame,  from  his 
large,  well-rounded  head  to  his  thick-soled  boots, 
and  these  were  built  on  no  common  last.  His 
forehead  was  really  higher  than  it  looked,  because 
his  thick  iron -gray  hair  had  early  overstepped  the 
line  of  the  border  plantations,  as  generally  laid 
out,  and  by  nature  had  encroached  downwards 
until  it  left  a  somewhat  narrow  space  between 
itself  and  his  eyebrows,  which  were  shaggy  and 
inclined  to  curl  outward.  His  eyes  were  a  deep 
blue  of  peculiar  shade,  without  a  suggestion  of 
gray,  and  his  long  nose  was  emphasized  by  a 
hump  in  the  centre  of  the  ridge,  which  lent  to  his 
countenance  an  expression  of  sternness,  strongly 
impressive  at  first  glance.  The  lower  part  of  his 
face  was  covered  with  a  mustache  and  beard  that 
matched  his  hair  in  color  and  concealed  his  mouth 
and  chin;  but  a  picture  of  him  taken  in  1862 
showed  a  young  man  with  a  well-rounded  chin, 
square-set  jaws,  and  a  handsome  mouth. 

Judge  Dunn  had  presided  over  this  circuit  for 
two  terms,  and  there  was  no  man  more  popular 
than  he  in  Stallworth  County.  A  remark  made 
by  a  Yankee  farmer,  some  years  before,  had  be- 
come historical,  and  was  generally  accepted  as  a 
fair  estimate  of  the  man.  "Goll  durn  him  !  "  ex- 
claimed this  farmer,  after  having  gotten  the  worst 


4  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

of  an  argument,  "the  jedge  is  as  set  in  his  ways 
as  a  mule,  but  durn  if  his  ways  ain't  'bout  always 
kerrect." 

It  was  a  morning  in  September  such  as  is  seen 
only  in  latitudes  where  the  fall  of  the  year  fur- 
nishes that  fleeting  and  uncertain  but  most  delight- 
ful of  all  seasons,  Indian  summer.  And  this  was 
Indian  summer  —  the  beginning,  and  perhaps  the 
end,  for  no  one  may  make  a  calendar  for  Indian 
summer.  The  air  was  a  trifle  crisp  in  the  early 
dawn,  for  it  was  not  yet  six  o'clock,  and  the  ring 
of  the  judge's  axe,  as  it  sent  the  oak  chips  flying, 
was  sharp  and  distinct. 

"Reg'lar  Indian  summer  day,  judge,"  remarked 
a  weazened  little  man,  who  had  come  from  the 
barn  and,  placing  a  well-filled  milk-pail  on  the 
ground,  had  seated  himself  on  a  sawhorse  close 
to  where  the  judge  was  swinging  his  axe.  "  Reckon 
we  couldn't  hev  a  better  day  to  open  court." 

"It  is  a  beautiful  day,  Rufus,"  replied  the 
judge,  pausing  in  his  work  and  looking  first  at 
the  rising  sun  and  then  at  the  clear  sky  overhead. 
"I  wouldn't  have  objected  to  a  day  like  this  last 
week.  The  bass  will  be  keen  this  morning." 

Rufus  chuckled  and  rolled  his  eyes. 

"If  it  wasn't  court  day,  I  'd  hitch  up  an'  take 
a  run  over  to  the  lake  and  try  'em,"  he  said  with 
a  sigh. 

"So  would  I,"  replied  the  judge  dryly,  resuming 
his  chopping,  while  Rufus  picked  up  his  pail  and 
prepared  to  again  take  up  the  thread  of  his  unfin- 
ished chores. 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  5 

"Er,  I  say,  judge  —  a — it  wouldn't  do  fer 
me,"  began  Rufus  in  a  stammering  way,  —  "I 
couldn't  take  a  sort  of  flying  trip  over  to  the 
lake,  could  I,  an' ' 

The  judge  leaned  on  his  axe,  and,  casting  a 
quizzical  glance  at  the  man,  said,  with  well-feigned 
surprise :  — 

"What  !   on  the  opening  day  of  the  fall  term?  " 

"Haw,  haw!  "  laughed  Rufus,  giving  a  sort  of 
double  shuffle  with  his  feet  by  way  of  emphasis; 
and  he  trotted  off  to  the  house  whistling  as  he 
went. 

The  judge  followed  him  with  an  amused  look  in 
his  blue  eyes. 

"The  old  rascal!  "  he  murmured.  "He  could 
n't  be  chased  way  from  here  to-day  with  a  battery 
of  light  artillery." 

Rufus  Pease  was  the  hired  man.  He  had  be- 
longed to  the  judge's  company  through  the  war, 
and  had  been  with  him  ever  since,  excepting  five 
years  just  after  the  close  of  the  war,  when  he  had 
tried  his  luck  on  the  Pacific  coast.  His  luck  had 
not  been  of  the  Mackey-Jim  Flood  type,  and  one 
day  Rufus  had  drifted  back  to  Bowerville  just  in 
time  to  find  Judge  Dunn  in  need  of  a  hired  man. 
At  least  the  judge  said  he  needed  one,  and  Rufus 
had  been  in  the  family  ever  since. 

An  hour  after  Rufus  had  trotted  into  the  house 
with  his  milk  -  pail,  the  judge  came  downstairs 
fittingly  attired  for  so  august  an  occasion  as  the 
opening  of  court.  He  wore  a  suit  of  black  doe- 


6  THE   FEDERAL    JUDGE 

skin,  the  coat  of  which  was  what  is  known  as  a 
frock,  double-breasted  and  cut  high  in  the  collar. 
It  was  of  ample  proportions,  and  its  age  no  man 
could  guess,  although  it  was  as  spick  and  span  as 
the  first  day  he  had  put  it  on.  It  was  not  but- 
toned now,  and  as  it  flowed  open  it  disclosed  a 
pair  of  trousers  which  bagged  at  the  knees,  and 
which  showed  just  below  the  knee-joint  that  pe- 
culiar circular  crease  which  betokened  that  their 
owner  wore  boots.  The  judge  came  down  hum- 
ming the  fragment  of  an  old  song,  and,  passing 
through  the  hall,  stepped  out  on  to  the  veranda. 
As  he  reached  the  porch,  there  was  the  flash, 
of  a  white  dress,  the  flutter  of  bright  ribbons, 
a  tossing  of  brown  hair,  and  a  girl's  voice,  the 
laughing  voice  of  a  young  woman,  ringing  out 
cheerily :  — 

"Here  I  am,  papa!  Now  for  the  exercises. 
Remember,  I  weigh  one  hundred  and  twenty -five 
now." 

The  judge  stretched  his  brawny  arms  at  full 
length  in  front  of  him,  and  when  he  slowly  raised 
them  a  trifle  they  held  suspended  in  the  air  as 
pretty  a  bit  of  pink  and  white  young  womanhood 
as  could  be  found  for  many  a  mile  around,  in 
country,  village,  or  city.  It  was  his  daughter 
Harriet,  his  only  child  now,  the  one  bit  of  con- 
tinuous sunshine  that  illumined  his  life;  for  the 
other,  that  is,  the  boy  —  but  we  are  looking  at  the 
sunny  side  of  things  now,  and  that  is  out  of  place 
here. 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  7 

"Oh,  you  can  lift  me  now,"  said  Harriet,  with 
a  playful  little  pout,  "but  after  a  while  I  shall 
grow  to  be  such  a  great  big  girl  that  you  can't." 

"Yes,  Harriet,"  replied  the  judge  with  mock 
gravity,  "but  that  will  be  when  the  heavy  hand 
of  Time  is  laid  on  your  poor  old  father." 

"Oh,  I  don't  mean  that,"  cried  Harriet,  disen- 
gaging herself  and  throwing  her  arms  around  her 
father's  neck.  "I  don't  mean  that,  papa,  because 
you  will  never  grow  old.  You  are  just  as  young 
as  you  ever  were." 

The  judge  laughed,  and  kissing  Harriet  stroked 
her  waving  brown  hair,  and  replied :  — 

"Never  mind,  little  girl,  I  won't  grow  old  any 
faster  than  I  can  help;  I  '11  promise  you  that." 

At  this  moment  Mrs.  Dunn  joined  them  on  the 
porch.  The  judge  greeted  her  with  a  courtly  bow, 
and  then,  placing  his  arm  about  her,  kissed  her 
upon  the  forehead. 

"Here  's  one  that  never  does  grow  old,  Harriet," 
continued  the  judge.  "She  's  as  young  in  my  eyes 
as  the  day  I  first  met  her." 

"And  you  are  a  great  big  boy  yet,"  said  Mrs. 
Dunn,  returning  the  caress.  The  retort  was  play- 
ful and  the  kiss  one  of  affection,  but  the  smile 
that  accompanied  them  had  the  suggestion  of  a 
shadow  in  it,  and  was  in  sombre  contrast  with  the 
spontaneous,  rippling  laugh  of  the  daughter.  Mrs. 
Dunn  never  laughed.  She  was  a  quiet  little  wo- 
man, with  the  air  of  one  who  had  learned  to  fold 
her  hands  and  bow  to  the  dictates  of  a  will  stronger 


8  THE    FEDERAL    JUDGE 

than  her  own.  Not  that  she  belonged  to  the 
whimpering  and  crying  sort  of  women,  for  she  had 
a  sunny  disposition,  though  there  was  obviously 
some  cloud  that  obscured  it.  Her  face,  in  its 
faintly  quivering  lip,  in  the  saddened,  far-off 
look  of  her  soft  brown  eyes,  in  the  merest  sug- 
gestion of  a  furrow  upon  her  forehead,  told  of 
a  sorrow,  buried,  perhaps,  but  whose  spectral  form 
would  not  vanish.  Yes;  a  look  from  her  husband 
would  always  dispel  it,  and  then  the  old  smile 
would  come  to  life  again.  But  Mrs.  Dunn  never 
laughed. 

The  tinkle  of  a  bell  announced  that  breakfast 
was  ready,  and  the  three  entered  the  broad  hall- 
way that  led  to  the  dining-room,  the  judge  in  the 
middle,  his  wife  and  daughter  clinging  to  an  arm 
on  either  side. 

There  was  one  peculiarity  about  Judge  Dunn's 
table :  it  was  always  laid  for  four,  while  there  were 
but  three  persons  in  the  family.  This  was  not 
for  the  accommodation  of  an  unexpected  visitor, 
however,  for  there  was  no  chair  at  the  vacant 
place,  and  the  utensils  were  not  such  as  Mrs. 
Dunn  would  have  set  before  a  guest.  The  plate 
wa§  an  old  one,  yellow  with  age,  in  fact,  and 
nicked  in  spots  on  its  blue  margin;  the  knife  was 
bone-handled,  as  was  also  its  three-tined  compan- 
ion; and  in  marked  contrast  with  the  glistening 
goblets  at  the  other  places,  there  was  a  metal  mug 
which  had  long  since  become  insensible  to  the  in- 
fluence of  the  red  flannel  rag  with  which  Betsy 


THE   FEDERAL    JUDGE 

polished  the  silver.  An  ivory  napkin-ring,  with 
a  napkin  neatly  rolled  within  it,  completed  the 
setting. 

"Your  coffee  is  unusually  fragrant  this  morn- 
ing, Betsy,"  remarked  the  judge. 

"It  came  purty  near  being  spiled  completely," 
said  Betsy  with  a  nasal  twang.  "That  good-for- 
nothing  Ruf  us  went  and  took  every  bit  of  the  hot 
water,  and  I  had  to  make  it  with  cold." 

"  'Pears  to  me,"  she  continued,  "he  's  nigh  crazy 
whenever  court  day  comes  'round.  Anybody  'd 
think  to  see  him  sputtering  about  that  the  whole 
thing  depended  on  him.  I  do  believe  he  thinks 
he  's  as  much  importance  as  the  judge  himself." 

"Ruf us  takes  great  interest  in  court  proceed- 
ings, Betsy,"  observed  the  judge.  "You  know  we 
have  been  on  the  bench  a  long  time,"  he  added 
with  a  smile. 

"Bench!  "  sniffed  Betsy.  "'Pears  to  me  he 's 
sittin'  on  that  old  sawhorse  out  there  most  the 
time  when  he  ain't  traipsing  over  to  the  lake,  and 
wasting  his  time  a-nshin'  and  a-fishin'.  If  I  had 
my  way,  I  'd  make  him  earn  his  salt,"  and  Betsy 
sailed  majestically  out  into  the  kitchen  and  shut 
the  door  behind  her. 

Betsy  Pilsbury,  to  use  her  own  language,  had 
"been  with  the  Dunn  family  nigh  on  to  twenty 
years,"  and  she  always  added  that  she  reckoned 
she  would  stay  with  them  until  she  died.  Betsy 
was  a  spinster  of  Down  East  extraction,  and  ac- 
cording to  all  traditions  should  have  been  angular, 


10  THE  FEDERAL  JUDGE 

for  she  was  tall ;  but  she  was  nothing  of  the  kind. 
In  vernacular  and  in  disposition  she  came  up  to 
the  tradition  usually  associated  with  Down  East 
spinsters,  but  the  resemblance  stopped  there  and 
went  to  the  other  extreme.  She  weighed  over 
two  hundred  pounds,  and  it  was  the  guess  of  cer- 
tain shrewd  farmers,  who  sold  live-stock  by  weight, 
that  she  would  scale  pretty  close  to  two  hundred 
and  fifty.  But  no  man  or  woman  had  ever  suc- 
ceeded in  getting  Betsy  on  the  scales,  save  once, 
when,  seated  on  a  loaded  farm  wagon,  she  had 
been  driven  on  to  the  public  hay  scales,  and  the 
record  showed  that  her  weight  closely  approxi- 
mated two  hundred  and  fifty;  but  unfortunately  it 
was  later  on  discovered  that  the  scales  were  out 
of  order  at  the  time,  and  Betsy  indignantly,  and 
maybe  justly,  denied  the  truthfulness  of  the  record. 
After  that  it  was  impossible  to  again  inveigle  her 
within  weighing  distance  of  anything  that  looked 
like  a  pair  of  scales.  She  had  a  double  chin, 
snappy  little  black  eyes,  and  dark  hair ;  and  when 
Betsy  was  once  "sot"  nothing  could  budge  her, 
that  is,  nothing  but  a  word,  just  a  simple,  quiet 
little  word  from  Judge  Tracy  Dunn. 

The  family  were  taking  their  time  at  breakfast 
when  Betsy  again  stuck  her  head  into  the  door, 
and  said:  "If  you  don't  get  ready  to  start  to  court 
pretty  soon,  jedge,  that  pesky  Kufus  there  will 
have  a  conniption  fit.  I  never  saw  anybody  act 
like  him.  He 's  having  regular  tantrums  out 
here." 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  11 

"It's  pretty  nigh  on  to  time  to  open  court, 
jedge,"  said  a  weak,  quavering  voice  somewhere 
behind  Betsy,  "and  the  ole  mare  ain't  as  lively  as 
she  uster  be." 

"Very  well,"  said  the  judge,  pushing  his  chair 
back;  "I  '11  be  ready  in  a  minute,  Eufus.  Drive 
around  in  front  of  the  house  with  the  buggy." 

And  a  few  minutes  later  they  drove  away,  Rufus 
all  smiles,  and  Harriet  waving  her  handkerchief 
from  the  porch  and  throwing  kisses  to  her  father, 
while  Mrs.  Dunn  stood  in  the  front  doorway  and 
smiled. 

To  all  intents  and  purposes  court  was  now  in 
session. 


CHAPTEK  II 

THE  money  that  first  made  the  great  Trans- 
American  Railroad  a  possibility  came  from  the 
East.  A  part  of  the  millions  thus  contributed 
went  to  line  the  pockets  of  the  officers  of  the  con- 
struction company,  who  were  also  officers  and 
stockholders  of  the  original  company.  It  was 
Eastern  men  who  lobbied  through  the  enormous 
land  grants  for  the  right  of  way  into  the  boundless 
West,  and  it  was  Eastern  money  that  secured  the 
services  of  Western  push  and  talent  that  made  the 
road  a  success.  Likewise  it  was  Eastern  nerve 
and  daring  that  poured  water  into  the  stock  by 
which  millions  of  dollars  were  drawn  into  the  treas- 
ury of  the  company,  and  in  return  for  which  cer- 
tain pieces  of  paper  were  given. 

For  a  while  the  road  was,  on  paper,  one  of  the 
greatest  and  most  prosperous  systems  in  the  coun- 
try. But  the  burden  was  too  much  to  bear,  and 
the  time  was  fast  approaching  when  some  heroic 
measures  must  be  taken  to  prevent  the  collapse 
and  bankruptcy  of  the  great  public  carrier.  The 
main  offices  were  in  the  West,  in  the  city  of  Mai- 
ton,  less  than  a  half  day's  ride  from  Chiopolis. 
At  the  head  of  the  road,  the  actual  manager  and 
acting  president,  was  a  man  to  whom  Wall  Street 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  13 

• 

had  been  a  kindergarten  and  the  stock  exchange 
a  finishing  academy,  for  he  never  took  a  full  col- 
legiate course.  His  name  was  Elliot  Gardwell. 
So  far  as  appearances  went,  Gardwell  might  have 
been  anywhere  from  thirty -five  to  forty-eight  years 
of  age.  He  was  tall  and  slender,  with  a  dark 
complexion,  dark  mustache,  and  steel-gray  eyes. 
The  mustache  was  inclined  to  droop,  and  he  al- 
lowed it  to  do  so  during  business  hours,  but  with 
a  little  twist  of  his  fingers  he  could  turn  up  the 
ends  and  change  his  whole  appearance.  He  had 
what  might  be  termed  a  face  of  high  expression : 
lights  and  shades  ran  across  it  with  a  rapidity  of 
change  that  suggested  the  shadow  of  a  cloud  sweep- 
ing over  meadow-land  on  a  gusty,  sunshiny  day. 
But  these  clouds  and  the  sunshine  were  under  per- 
fect control;  they  never  came  at  the  wrong  time. 
He  had  rather  a  long  nose,  and  when  in  deep 
thought  it  seemed  still  longer,  as  a  contraction  of 
the  brow  formed  a  ridge,  as  though  the  nose  ex- 
tended from  its  tip  to  a  point  half  way  through  his 
high  but  narrow  forehead.  His  hair  was  black, 
with  streaks  of  gray  running  through  it.  But  his 
mouth  was  the  wonderful  part  of  his  face.  It 
seemed  as  if  he  really  had  two  mouths,  so  far  as 
the  outline  and  lips  were  concerned.  When  in 
the  mood,  a  light  and  pleasing  mood  it  was  on 
these  occasions,  he  could  distend  the  lower  lip  and 
shape  the  corners  of  his  mouth  into  a  smile  as 
winsome  as  ever  rested  on  the  face  of  a  choir  boy. 
This  mouth  was  handsome,  a  perfect  cupid's  bow, 


14  THE  FEDERAL   JUDGE 

though  it  was  a  weak  and  somewhat  sensual  one. 
His  other  mouth  —  and  it  was  not  certain  which 
was  the  natural  one  —  was  thin  lipped,  with  a 
little  pucker  in  each  corner,  and  it  was  so  straight 
a  line  that  it  gave  to  his  face  a  look  of  quiet  deter- 
mination, suggestive  of  a  will  power  that  would 
brook  no  interference  nor  stop  at  anything  to 
enforce  its  demands.  He  could  smile  with  this 
mouth,  too,  a  queer  little  set  smile  that  made  his 
face  look  pleasant  enough  and  showed  the  tips 
of  a  set  of  even,  white  teeth.  His  hands  were 
small  and  slender,  and  he  used  them  to  emphasize 
his  words,  moving  them  from  the  wrist,  with  his 
arms  in  repose.  It  was  wonderful  to  see  how 
much  expression  he  could  get  into  the  slightest 
movement  of  a  hand  with  his  elbow  resting  on  the 
desk  and  the  forearms  stationary  and  inclined  at 
an  angle  from  him.  Nearly  every  friend  or  ac- 
quaintance of  Elliot  Gardwell  had  at  some  time  or 
other  made  the  discovery,  and  remarked  upon  it 
as  though  the  discovery  were  new,  that  he  was  "a 
remarkable  man." 

Three  days  before  the  opening  of  court  at  Bow- 
erville,  Elliot  Gardwell  sat  in*  his  office  at  Malton, 
reading  a  report  of  the  legal  advisers  of  the  com- 
pany. He  had  read  it  over  several  times,  and  the 
ridge  began  to  grow  in  the  centre  of  his  forehead 
until,  finally,  he  tapped  a  bell;  and  when  the  clerk 
appeared  in  response,  he  said  in  a  sharp,  decisive 
tone,  "Send  for  Stalker." 

The  ridge  remained  on  his  face  while  he  waited. 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  15 

and  Stalker  noticed  it  with  misgivings  when  he 
entered  the  office  of  his  superior. 

"Take  a  chair,"  said  Gardwell.  "You  advise 
us  not  to  go  to  trial  in  this  damage  suit  in  the 
circuit  court  of  Stallworth  County.  For  what 
reason,  pray  ?  " 

"We  never  got  a  verdict  in  that  court,"  was 
Stalker's  laconic  reply. 

"Oh,  is  that  all?  "  Perhaps  we  had  better  begin 
—  and  get  one." 

"I'm  sure  no  one  would  like  to  get  a  favor- 
able verdict  there  better  than  I,"  said  Stalker; 
"but  I  have  been  up  there  several  times  in  the 
last  five  years,  and  I  never  saw  a  case  yet  which 
we  had  any  show  of  winning.  The  judge  is  a  reg- 
ular old  granger,  and  he  believes  that  every  man 
connected  with  a  corporation  is  hired  man  to  the 
devil." 

"Pooh,"  sneered  Gardwell  contemptuously. 
"The  woods  are  full  of  that  kind  of  judges.  We 
generally  manage  to  gather  them  in  as  we  want 
them,  don't  we,  Stalker?" 

Stalker  smiled  and  nodded.  "But  you  can't 
get  Judge  Tracy  Dunn." 

"What  kind  of  a  man  is  this  Dunn,  any  way?  " 
asked  Gardwell  in  a  milder  tone. 

"Well,"  began  Stalker,  "that 's  a  hard  question 
to  answer.  He  is  liberal  enough  in  some  ways, 
but  narrow  in  others,  and  his  narrowest  point  is 
where  it  pinches  our  feet.  He  's  down  on  corpo- 
rations." 


16  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

"Is  he  a  socialist,  or  an  anarchist,  or  anything 
of  that  sort?" 

"Oh,  no,"  replied  Stalker;  "he  ain't  that  kind 
at  all.  He  simply  believes  that  corporations  have 
more  than  their  share  of  the  advantages  in  litiga- 
tion. He  thinks  we  make  a  demonstration,  a  sort 
of  grand-stand  play,  it  might  be  called,  and  use 
various  artifices  to  influence  the  minds  of  judges 
and  jurymen.  So,  in  order  not  to  be  improperly 
influenced,  this  old  fellow  leans  the  other  way. 
He  is  as  honest  as  the  day  is  long,  and  he  's  as 
stubborn  as  he  is  honest." 

"Well,"  said  Gardwell,  "I  don't  know  what  to 
do  about  it,  but  I  would  like  to  break  this  succes- 
sion of  adverse  verdicts  in  his  court.  We  have 
lost  prestige  in  that  district  to  such  an  extent  that 
no  matter  what  the  claim  is,  it  is  allowed.  These 
countrymen  have  been  educated  up  to  the  idea  that 
every  time  a  corporation  sticks  its  head  into  court, 
no  matter  how  good  its  cause  may  be,  it  is  their 
bounden  duty  to  hit  it.  It  is  not  the  ultimate 
result  of  this  suit  that  interests  me,  but  the  effect, 
the  moral  effect,  of  losing  all  the  time  in  the  lower 
courts.  Of  course  the  supreme  court  would  over- 
rule the  verdict.  This  farmer  here  wants  five 
thousand  dollars  damages  for  the  loss  of  three 
haystacks  and  a  barn  by  fire.  What  did  he  want 
to  leave  that  fringe  of  grass  along  the  fence  for, 
anyway?  It  extended  from  our  right  of  way  close 
up  to  his  barnyard." 

"Claims  he  could  not  get  into  the  corners  with 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  17 

his  mowing-machine,"  said  Stalker,  "and  it  won't 
be  very  hard  for  him  to  prove  that  to  such  a  jury 
as  they  panel  in  Judge  Dunn's  court." 

"Does  the  charge  of  Judge  Dunn  to  the  jury 
cut  much  figure  out  there?"  asked  Gardwell  sud- 
denly. 

"About  the  same  thing  as  a  verdict,"  replied 
Stalker  dryly;  "never  knew  it  to  fail  yet.  What- 
ever Dunn  says  goes." 

Gardwell  was  lost  in  thought  for  several  mo- 
ments, and  then  looking  up,  said :  — 

"  Stalker,  I '  ve  a  good  mind  to  go  out  there 
myself;  I  haven't  been  in  court  for  a  good  many 
months,  especially  in  the  country.  I  want  to  see 
this  judge;  he  must  be  quite  a  character.  I'm 
glad  to  say  there  are  only  a  few  of  his  sort  left. 
Yes ;  I  will  go.  I  need  a  little  rest,  anyway,  and 
I  am  a  fairly  good  missionary,  you  know,  and  may 
come  back  with  a  proselyte." 

"So  far  as  taking  a  rest  goes,  you  will  do  well 
to  go,"  said  Stalker,  "but  it  is  my  judgment  that 
you  will  be  doing  extremely  well  if  you  get  inside 
his  picket  lines  on  the  corporation  question." 

He  was  bowing  himself  out  when  Gardwell 
looked  up  and  asked,  "Stalker,  has  Dunn  got  a 
pass  on  our  road?" 

"No,"  was  the  reply;  "we  haven't  sent  him  one 
for  the  past  six  years.  We  have  his  letter  on  file 
asking  us  not  to  —  a  very  gentlemanly  letter,  too. 
He  said  he  knew  we  were  simply  following  a  cus- 
tom, but  at  the  same  time  asked  as  a  special  favor 


18  THE    FEDERAL    JUDGE 

that  we  wouldn't  trouble  him  with  any  more 
passes.  He 's  the  man,  you  '11  remember,  who 
said  that  he  charged  the  road  all  the  law  would 
allow  for  what  it  got  in  his  court,  and  he  wanted 
the  road  to  charge  all  the  law  would  allow  for 
what  it  did  for  him." 

"What 's  his  weak  point,  Stalker?" 

"I  don't  know  that  he  has  any." 

"Pshaw  !  "  said  Gardwell;  "I  thought  better  of 
you  than  that.  All  men  have  their  weak  points. 
Has  he  no  hobby?" 

"  Come  to  think  of  it,  he  has  a  great  collection 
of  butterflies  and  can  tell  you  the  name  and  "  — 

"That's  enough,"  interrupted  Gardwell,  "but- 
terflies it  is." 

This  ended  the  interview,  and  Stalker  took  his 
leave. 

"That  fellow  Stalker  is  a  great  seducer  of 
men,"  mused  Gardwell,  "but  like  all  of  his  class, 
no  matter  how  skilled  in  their  art  they  may  be, 
they  always  find  fortresses  that  are  impregnable. 
Such  are  left  for  better  men  to  carry."  He  twirled 
his  mustache  in  a  satisfied  way,  and  taking  a  cigar 
from  a  drawer  lighted  it.  It  was  a  habit  he  had, 
of  smoking  when  some  important  matter  was  under 
consideration.  In  the  clouds  which  he  now  blew 
from  his  lips  he  pictured  the  granger  judge,  nar- 
row, bigoted,  and  with  the  little  learning  that  had 
made  him  such  a  dangerous  thing.  He  began  to 
figure  how  he  might  ingratiate  himself  with  the 
judge,  and  impress  upon  him  the  many  advantages 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  19 

that  would  accrue  should  he  be  willing  to  modify 
his  views.  Not  that  he  had  any  thought  of  brib- 
ing this  stubborn  jurist.  Elliot  Gardwell  was  too 
shrewd  a  man  to  venture  so  far  as  to  attempt  brib- 
ery, out  and  out.  But  he  had  certain  deft  and 
cunning  ways  of  influencing  the  minds  of  others, 
and  the  success  with  which  he  employed  these  was 
briefly  told  in  his  remark  to  Stalker,  "  We  gener- 
ally manage  to  gather  them  in  as  we  need  them." 
Gardwell  was,  in  short,  of  that  type  whom  we 
style  as  confidence  men  when  engaged  in  a  retail 
business,  but  who  are  esteemed  as  diplomats  when 
they  conduct  their  operations  at  wholesale. 

As  he  sat  there,  musing,  he  heard  a  voice  out- 
side inquiring  for  him,  and  a  minute  later  the  door 
was  pushed  open  to  admit  a  young  man  who  wore 
glasses  and  carried  a  cane. 

"Good-morning,"  said  the  newcomer,  although 
it  was  now  late  in  the  afternoon.  "Is  there  any- 
thing new?" 

"Not  a  thing  that  I  know  of,"  replied  Gardwell. 
"Take  a  seat,  have  a  cigar;  "  and  he  reached  for 
a  drawer,  but  not  the  one  that  he  had  opened  a 
moment  before. 

"What's  new?"  asked  the  visitor  again, 
abruptly. 

"It's  very  quiet." 

"How  about  a  receivership?" 

"A  receivership?"  Gardwell  turned  in  sur- 
prise. 

"  Yes, "  said  the  reporter  of  the  "  Morning  Watch- 


20  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

man,"  for  such  he  was.  "  A  New  York  special  says 
that  a  great  Western  road  is  soon  to  be  put  into 
the  hands  of  a  receiver.  Is  it  the  American?" 

Gardwell  laughed.  "My  dear  fellow,"  said  he, 
"the  Trans-American  is  the  last  road  in  this  coun- 
try that  would  go  into  the  hands  of  a  receiver. 
What  in  the  world  should  we  go  into  the  hands  of 
a  receiver  for?  Did  you  see  our  last  annual  re- 
port?" 

"I  saw  it,"  said  the  reporter,  "but  I  only  ask; 
I  have  to  ask  these  questions,  you  know." 

"It's  all  right  to  ask  such  questions,  but  don't 
get  any  such  idea  in  your  head,  my  dear  boy,  or 
into  your  paper  either,  by  the  way.  Don't  write 
anything  about  that;  we  don't  want  any  such  story 
started  about  this  road." 

"I  won't  write  anything,  because  I  haven't  got 
anything,"  was  the  reply. 

The  reporter  arose  to  go,  and  as  he  was  walking 
out,  Gardwell  said:  "And  by  the  way,  Marx,  I  '11 
be  out  of  the  city  for  several  days.  You  needn't 
say  anything  about  it,  though,  if  you  please.  I 
am  going  off  on  private  business,  down  to  Chio- 
polis,  you  know." 

Gardwell  dictated  a  couple  of  letters  into  a 
phonograph,  and  then  touching  a  button,  which 
called  a  clerk  into  his  room,  handed  the  cylinders 
to  him.  "Take  those  to  Miss  Mullins,  and  tell 
her  that  I  shall  not  want  them  until  morning." 
Then  he  closed  his  desk,  and  putting  on  his  hat 
and  coat  walked  into  the  adjoining  office.  "I 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  21 

am  going  out  to  Bowerville  for  a  day  or  so  towards 
the  end  of  this  week,"  he  said  to  his  secretary, 
"and  I  don't  want  anybo^r  to  know  where  I  have 
gone.  I  have  spoken  to  Marx  about  it,  and  he 
will  not  print  anything.  You  will  throw  the  other 
reporters  off  as  best  you  can.  Tell  them  I  am 
in  Chiopolis  attending  to  some  private  busi- 
ness. Notify  Stalker  to  get  all  the  papers  ready 
in  that  case  of  ours  on  the  Stallworth  County 
calendar,  and  also  tell  young  Bracy  to  meet  me 
at  the  four  o'clock  train  on  Thursday  afternoon. 
Good-by." 

Gardwell  twirled  up  the  corners  of  his  mustache 
as  he  rode  down  in  the  elevator,  emerging  from 
which  with  a  light  and  jaunty  step  he  went  to  the 
club.  When  he  had  removed  his  hat  and  coat  and 
strolled  into  the  main  room,  he  was  greeted  by 
three  men  seated  at  a  table. 

"Ah,  here  is  Gardwell,"  cried  one  of  them; 
"now  we  will  have  a  game.  We  have  been  wait- 
ing for  you  for  half  an  hour.  We  want  you  for 
a  rub  at  whist." 

"That  will  suit  me,"  Gardwell  said,  taking  a 
seat  at  the  table.  "Oh,  you  needn't  do  that,"  he 
continued,  as  one  of  the  party  began  throwing 
around  for  partners,  "the  judge  and  I  will  play 
together." 

Judge  Frezett,  of  the  federal  bench,  blandly 
smiled  his  approval  of  this  arrangement,  and  get- 
ting up  exchanged  seats  with  one  of  the  other  gen- 
tlemen. He  was  notoriously  one  of  the  poorest 


22  THE    FEDERAL    JUDGE 

whist  players  in  the  club,  and  Gardwell  was  ac- 
knowledged the  best. 

"What  shall  we  do  with  these  fellows,  judge?" 
asked  Gardwell,  laughing. 

"Oh,  let 's  give  them  a  fair  trial  before  condemn- 
ing them." 

"Good !  "  put  in  one  of  the  "fellows"  referred 
to.  "Why  don't  you  adopt  that  sort  of  practice 
in  your  court,  judge?  " 

The  judge  smiled.  Mr.  President  Bond,  of  the 
Sixth  National  Bank,  was  meanwhile  dealing  the 
cards  and  continuing  some  remarks  upon  the 
financial  situation,  which  had  been  interrupted  by 
Gardwell' s  arrival,  concluding  both  at  the  same 
time  with,  "Money  will  be  easier  next  week. 
Clubs  are  trumps." 

The  strength  of  Gard well's  game  at  whist  con- 
sisted in  first  knowing  what  sort  of  a  player  his 
partner  was,  and  then  adapting  his  own  play 
thereto  without  regard  to  rules  and  conventionali- 
ties prescribed  by  the  books.  He  was  thoroughly 
versed  in  the  scientific  intricacies  of  the  game,  and 
was  usually  a  great  stickler  for  the  prescribed 
leads.  Nevertheless,  when  occasion  required,  he 
could  bend  to  the  level  of  the  most  erratic  "bum- 
blepuppist,"  and  his  play  on  these  occasions  both 
deceived  and  confounded  his  adversaries. 

Each  side  had  scored  a  game  and  the  cards  had 
been  dealt  for  the  rubber.  It  was  Judge  Frezett's 
lead.  He  led  a  king.  Gardwell  hesitated  a  mo- 
ment, as  if  studying  his  hand,  and  then  coolly 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  23 

killed  his  partner's  king  with  the  ace  and  returned 
the  lead.  He  had  sat  opposite  Judge  Frezett 
often  enough  to  know  that  the  judge  had  led  a 
singleton,  and  that  the  greatest  discourtesy  he 
could  be  guilty  of  would  be  to  deprive  the  judge 
of  the  opportunity  of  taking  tricks  with  his  little 
trumps.  Moreover,  he  had  a  missing  suit  himself 
and  was  strong  in  trumps. 

Their  opponents  looked  at  each  other  in  aston- 
ishment, but  played  "whist." 

As  chance  would  have  it,  the  judge's  second 
lead  struck  Gard well's  missing  suit,  thus  develop- 
ing a  cross-ruff,  which  was  straightway  worked 
for  six  tricks,  all  told.  The  other  seven  were 
sharply  contested,  but  all  went  the  same  way. 

"A  thirteener,  by  Jove  !  "  exclaimed  the  judge, 
excitedly  bringing  his  fist  down  on  the  table,  and 
pushing  back  his  chair. 

Meantime  Gardwell  had  risen  and  walked  round 
to  the  judge,  to  whom,  extending  his  hand,  he  said 
in  his  quiet*  way,  "  You  played  your  hand  to  per- 
fection, judge,  I  congrat — " 

"What!  "  interrupted  Bond,  "do  you  mean  to 
say  that  in  leading  the  singleton  " 

"I  mean  to  say  that  the  judge  played  exactly 
right  —  he  generally  does." 

"Pshaw,  Gardwell,  you  know  that  the  books 
all  teach,  and  experience  confirms  it,  that  leading 
a  singleton  " 

"There  is  one  axiom  in  whist,  Mr.  Bond,  which 
you  seem  to  forget,  and  that  is  '  When  you  see  a 


24  THE    FEDERAL    JUDGE 

way  to  win,  take  that  way,  no  matter  what  the 
conventional  guide-posts  say.'  All  rules  stand 
second  to  the  fall  of  the  cards." 

"Yes,"  said  the  judge,  uand  there's  an  old 
Latin  maxim  which  is  also  applicable  here :  '  Finis 
coronat  opus.'  We  took  the  whole  thirteen  tricks; 
what  more  do  you  want?"  and  he  rubbed  his  hands 
gleefully. 

"You  are  better  posted  in  Latin,  judge,  than  in 
the  American  leads,"  replied  Bond. 

The  judge  joined  in  the  general  laugh  which 
followed  this  good-natured  retort,  and  taking  Gard- 
well  by  the  arm  turned  to  go. 

"By  the  way,"  said  Gardwell,  turning  again, 
"who  knows  where  I  can  procure  a  collection  of 
butterflies?" 

The  banker  knew  of  a  collection  that  had  been 
exhibited  at  the  state  fair  the  previous  year,  and 
was  able  to  put  Gardwell  in  the  way  of  finding  it. 

As  the  two  were  passing  out,  the  judge  was 
overheard  saying  to  Gardwell :  — 

"So  you  think  I  played  that  last  hand  about 
right,  do  you?  A  thirteener  !  he  !  he  !  he  !  " 

The  vanquished  two,  still  sitting  at  the  table 
with  the  recorded  evidence  of  their  defeat  between 
them,  looked  into  each  other's  faces  in  silence  for 
a  moment,  and  then  suddenly  burst  into  laughter. 

"I  wonder  why  it  is,"  said  the  banker,  "that 
Gardwell,  who  plays  as  good  whist  as  any  of  us, 
always  takes  Frezett  for  a  partner  of  late  —  the 
judge  can't  play  a  little  bit." 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  25 

"And  I  wonder  what  on  earth  he  wants  of  a 
collection  of  butterflies,"  was  the  reply.  Then, 
looking  around  the  room  as  if  to  be  sure  he  was 
not  being  overheard,  he  leaned  forward  and  con- 
tinued, rather  hesitatingly,  in  an  undertone,  "I 
have  heard  it  said  that  Elliot  Gardwell  never  over- 
looks a  bet." 

The  president  of  the  Sixth  National  Bank 
flushed. 

"Gardwell  is  as  straight  as  a  string,"  he  said. 
"  He  is  a  very  keen  and  sagacious  man  in  his  busi- 
ness affairs,  but  perfectly  straight,  I  assure  you." 

Elliot  Gardwell's  balance  in  the  Sixth  National 
Bank  at  that  moment  was  expressed  by  six  figures 
on  the  bank  ledger.  But  that  has  nothing  to  do 
with  this  story,  and  neither,  for  the  matter  of 
that,  has  this  game  of  whist  ;  though  recorded 
together  here  they  incidentally  give  an  idea  of 
some  of  the  varied  resources  of  this  remarkable 
man. 


CHAPTER  III 

"WELL,  Rufus,"  said  the  judge  as  they  drove 
away  from  the  house,  "I  don't  think  we  shall  have 
a  long  grind  this  term;  there  doesn't  appear  to  be 
a  great  deal  on  the  calendar." 

"Nothing  of  much  account  but  that  case  of 
Farmer  Barnsted's  against  the  railroad,"  replied 
Rufus.  "Reckon  it  won't  take  him  long  to  get 
a  verdict,  either.  Three  haystacks,  a  woodshed, 
and  the  barn.  That  was  a  right  smart  of  a  fire, 
that  was." 

"And  how  often  it  happens,"  observed  the  judge, 
more  to  himself  than  to  Rufus,  "that  a  verdict  in 
the  lower  court  fails  to  rebuild  a  burned  barn  or 
to  furnish  a  recompense  for  the  loss  of  a  limb.  If 
Barnsted  wins  here,  his  fight  is  only  just  begun. 
Too  much  law  and  too  little  equity  is  too  often  seen 
where  a  big  corporation  is  a  party  in  the  case." 

Rufus  was  used  to  hearing  the  judge  soliloquize, 
and  he  had  learned  by  experience  that  it  ill  be- 
hooved him  to  assume  that  the  judge's  remarks 
were  addressed  to  him. 

Judge  Dunn's  court  opened  on  that  day  just  as 
it  had  on  many  a  day  before.  The  dull  routine 
began,  and,  settling  into  that  droning  buzz  which 
forms  a  part  of  the  county  legal  machinery  in 


THE  FEDERAL   JUDGE  27 

motion,  this  little  mill  of  justice  ground  the  grist 
allotted  to  it.  In  the  rear  row  of  chairs  was  Elliot 
Gardwell  and  young  Bracy,  whom  he  had  brought 
to  appear  for  the  company  in  the  Barnsted  case. 
Gardwell  sat  with  his  eyes  half  closed,  and  a  little 
smile  on  his  face.  How  stupid  it  all  was  !  What 
an  insignificant  obstacle  this  judge,  his  court,  and 
his  bucolic  following  should  he  but  desire  to  brush 
them  aside ! 

"A  field-mouse  in  front  of  a  locomotive,"  he 
thought,  and  he  smiled  at  the  conceit. 

Court  adjourned  at  noon,  and  Gardwell  arose, 
and  going  forward  met  the  judge  just  as  he  was  de- 
scending from  the  bench.  He  introduced  himself. 

"Glad  to  meet  you,  Mr.  Gardwell,"  said  the 
judge.  "I  believe  I  had  the  pleasure  of  being 
introduced  to  you  at  the  state  convention  five  years 
ago.  But  I  do  not  suppose  you  remember  me; 
you  met  so  many  delegates  on  that  occasion." 

"Indeed  I  do,"  replied  Gardwell,  with  one  of 
his  smiles ;  "  it  was  in  the  cigar  store  next  to  the 
Vista  Hotel,  at  eleven  o'clock  in  the  morning,  an 
hour  before  the  convention  assembled.  Legler,  of 
La  Crosse,  introduced  us.  And  if  I  remember 
correctly,  you  did  as  you  said  you  would,  and 
helped  to  defeat  Emmit.  Am  I  right?  " 

"You  have  a  retentive  memory,"  the  judge  re- 
plied. "This  is  your  first  visit  to  Bowerville,  is 
it  not?  Well,  every  man  is  proud  of  his  home 
town,  and  should  be,  and  I  will  take  pleasure  in 
showing  you  about.  We  have  a  fine  country 


28  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

around  here,  with  little  patches  here  and  there  that 
will  remind  you  of  your  Eastern  country." 

The  two  men  chatted  for  a  few  minutes,  and 
when  the  judge  invited  him  to  dinner  in  the  even- 
ing, he  gladly  accepted.  Before  they  parted  Gard- 
well  was  introduced  to  Robert  Emmersley,  a  young 
lawyer,  who  was  of  the  counsel  for  t}ie  plaintiff  in 
the  Barnsted  case. 

Gardwell,  Emmersley  and  young  Bracy,  Gard- 
well's  assistant,  went  to  lunch  together  at  the 
hotel.  The  conversation  was  not  an  animated 
one.  Gardwell  did  not  care  to  talk  much  in  the 
presence  of  his  young  subordinate,  and  Emmersley, 
to  tell  the  truth,  was  somewhat  awed  in  the  pres- 
ence of  this  man  of  whom  he  had  heard  so  much, 
and  with  whom  he  differed  so  radically.  Robert 
Emmersley  was  a  young  lawyer,  but  he  had  ideas 
beyond  the  law  and  outside  its  channel.  He  had 
made  something  of  a  study  of  social  economy,  and 
had  contributed  a  number  of  articles  to  the  local 
paper,  besides  having  once  appeared  in  one  of  the 
Eastern  magazines.  He  had  worked  his  way 
through  college,  and  had  there  laid  the  basis  of 
that  spirit  of  sturdy  self-reliance  in  his  character 
which  was  fast  making  him  a  leader  in  the  little 
community  in  which  he  lived.  He  could  not  be 
called  handsome,  but  there  was  a  frankness  in  his 
expression  and  a  light  in  his  blue  eyes  that  in- 
spired confidence.  A  trifle  over  six  feet  in  height, 
large  boned  and  loose  jointed,  he  struck  one  at 
first  glance  as  being  awkward.  But  when  he 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  29 

moved  this  thought  was  dispelled,  for  he  exhibited 
an  agile  grace  that  was  surprising  in  one  so  large 
framed.  He  had  curly  blond  hair,  which  he  wore 
quite  long,  and  a  crisp  mustache  of  the  same 
shade.  He  was  twenty-eight  years  old,  was  equally 
famous,  in  the  country  about,  for  his  athletic 
prowess  and  his  skill  in  debate,  and  was  rapidly 
gaining  a  political  following  that  caused  some  of 
the  older  men  in  the  district  to  pay  him  marked 
attention. 

After  the  lunch  Gardwell  felt  in  a  pleasant 
mood,  and  invited  the  young  men  to  have  a  cigar 

with  him. 

r 

"What  kind  will  you  have?"  asked  the  clerk, 
as  they  stood  leaning  on  the  show-case. 

"Oh,  something  fairly  good,"  said  Gardwell, 
throwing  a  half-dollar  on  the  case.  "Three  for  a 
half." 

"The  best  we 've  got,"  replied  the  clerk,  "are 
two  for  a  quarter." 

Gardwell  laughed.  "Very  well,"  he  said,  "but 
you  will  not  do  any  too  well,  my  young  friend,  if 
you  persist  in  being  so  honest.  Always  give  a 
man  what  he  asks  for  and  ask  no  questions." 

He  spoke  in  a  jocular  tone,  but  Emmersley 
made  the  mental  comment  that  he  doubtless  prac- 
ticed what  he  preached  in  larger  deals  than  those 
involving  the  transfer  of  cigars. 

"I  suppose  the  judge's  man  will  be  at  the  court- 
house at  one  o'clock,"  said  Gardwell.  "I  so 
understood  him." 


30  THE   FEDERAL    JUDGE 

Kufus  was  waiting  when  they  reached  the  court- 
house. They  had  not  driven  a  mile  before  Gard- 
well  had  succeeded  in  gaining  the  entire  confidence 
of  his  rustic  guide.  At  first  Rufus  had  answered 
in  monosyllables  and  showed  an  abashment  strangely 
out  of  keeping  with  his  ordinary  manners.  It  took 
Gardwell  only  a  few  moments  to  appreciate  the 
situation,  and  with  his  customary  tact  he  soon  had 
Rufus  at  perfect  ease  and  pouring  forth  a  stream 
of  words.  "Ah,"  thought  Gardwell,  with  a  faint 
smile,  "very  little  about  the  private  affairs  of 
Judge  Dunn  but  I  '11  know  inside  of  half  an  hour." 
And  his  surmise  was  correct. 

"Yes,"  said  Rufus,  "I  've  been  with  the  family 
nigh  ont'  twenty  years.  I  ain't  exactly  related  to 
the  judge,  but  my  sister  and  his  wife's  sister  both 
married  into  the  Bogart  family,  —  the  Bogarts  of 
Sackville,  you  know,  —  and  so  we  're  kinder  con- 
nected, don't  you  see?" 

Gardwell  saw,  or  at  least  he  so  indicated  by  a 
"Yes?"  delivered  with  that  rising  inflection  which 
he  sometimes  used  in  the  polite  circles  in  which  he 
moved  in  Malton. 

"The  judge  is  a  fine  man,  I  tell  you,  Mr.  Gard- 
well, but  he  's  terribly  set  in  his  ways,  and  when 
he  once  puts  his  foot  down  you  can't  budge  him. 
Still,  he  don't  get  sot  as  often  as  he  used  to.  I  've 
seen  it  growing  on  him  for  the  last  two  or  three 
years,  and  he  's  getting  milder  and  milder.  Don't 
just  remember  when  he  last  set  his  foot  down  real 
hard.  But  I  can  look  back  and  remember  when 
he  did,  and  he  's  liable  to  do  it  yet  at  any  minute." 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  31 

"Has  he  a  large  family?"  inquired  Gardwell. 

"No,"  said  Rufus,  "only  his  wife  and  Harriet. 
That  is,  there  was  a  boy,  too,  but  they  don't  ever 
mention  him." 

"Lost  one  of  his  children,  did  he?" 

"Well,  you  can't  exactly  say  lost,  'cause  he's 
liable  to  come  back  any  time,  I  suppose.  We 
have  been  waiting  for  him  for  the  last  nine  years." 

"Oh,  the  boy  ran  away  from  home,  did  he?" 
queried  Gardwell  carelessly. 

"Well,  he  didn't  exactly  run  away.  The  judge 
kinder  —  well,  now,  you  mus'  n't  let  on,  Mr.  Gard- 
well, if  I  tell  you  about  that,  will  you?  There 
ain't  much  said  about  it,  you  know." 

"Oh,  I'll  not  say  anything,"  said  Gardwell 
assuringly.  "You  can  depend  on  me  for  that." 

"Well,  it 's  about  nine  years  ago.  Young  Tom 
was  fourteen  years  old,  and  getting  to  be  a  purty 
wild  sort  of  boy;  had  a  good  deal  of  the  old  man's 
spirit  in  him ;  I  used  to  know  Judge  Dunn  when 
he  was  a  boy,  you  know.  This  kid  had  purty 
much  the  same  old  streak.  Well,  he  did  some- 
thing his  father  told  him  not  to  —  no  use  going 
into  particulars  —  at  any  rate  the  judge  scolded 
him  for  doing  something  at  the  supper-table  one 
night.  Tom,  he  denied  it.  The  judge  says, 
'  Don't  deny  that,  son;  you  did  do  it.'  '  But  I 
didn't,'  says  Tom,  spunking  up.  'I  don't  want 
to  hear  you  say  that  again, '  says  the  judge.  '  But 
I  did  n't, '  says  the  boy.  The  judge,  he  rose  right 
up  from  the  table,  catched  Tom  by  the  ear,  and 


32  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

marched  him  to  the  door.  He  opened  the  door, 
put  him  out  kinder  gruffly,  and  then  says,  says 
he,  '  Don't  you  ever  dare  to  come  back  here  until 
you  can  tell  me  the  truth,'  an'  he  shut  the  door 
and  went  back  to  his  place.  Harriet  was  a  little 
bit  of  a  thing  then,  and  Mrs.  Dunn,  she  was  scared 
to  death,  and  didn't  dast  say  a  word.  When  the 
table  was  cleared  off  that  night  she  left  his  plate 
there,  thinking  maybe  he  would  come  back  and  be 
pretty  hungry.  But  he  didn't  come.  So  next 
morning  she  put  the  plate  on  for  breakfast  again, 
but  there  wras  no  signs  of  Tom.  It  was  the  same 
thing  at  noon  an'  the  plate  was  there,  but  the 
judge  hadn't  nary  a  word  to  say.  Mrs.  Dunn, 
she  did  n't  say  anything  either.  It  went  along  for 
several  days  till  finally  the  judge  blurted  out  all  at 
once  and  says,  '  Mary,  what  is  that  plate  doing 
there?' 

" '  That  plate  is  waiting  for  Tom, '  says  Mrs. 
Dunn  in  a  way  I  never  heard  her  speak  before. 
It  was  cold  as  ice.  I  was  out  in  the  kitchen  and 
heard  every  word.  '  I  don't  want  to  see  that  plate 
there  any  more,  Mary, '  says  the  judge.  '  If  that 
boy  is  fool  enough  to  stay  away  from  a  good  home, 
we  are  not  to  blame.  I  don't  want  any  more  of 
this  nonsense.'  Then  Mrs.  Dunn  spunked  up. 
It 's  the  first  time  and  the  last  time  I  ever  heard 
her  do  it  in  my  life.  'Tracy,'  says  she,  'that 
plate  is  going  to  stay  there  as  long  as  I  stay  in 
this  house,  and  when  that  plate  is  no  longer  at  the 
table,  I  '11  be  at  the  table  no  longer. '  It  sort  of 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  33 

took  the  judge's  breath  away,  and  he  just  looked 
at  her  in  surprise.  He  tried  to  say  something, 
but  when  he  started  in  she  shut  him  right  up  as 
quick  as  you  please,  and  repeated  just  what  she 
said  before,  and  I  '11  never  forget  it,  — 4  That  plate 
is  going  to  stay  there  at  our  table  until  my  boy 
comes  back.'  Since  that  time  Mrs.  Dunn  has 
never  been  like  she  used  to  be  before  that.  She 
is  pleasant  enough,  but  she  's  never  laughed  since 
that  time.  She  used  to  be  the  laughiest  and  romp- 
iest  sort  of  a  young  woman,  just  like  a  girl,  more 
than  a  married  woman  and  the  mother  of  two  chil- 
dren." 

"And  they  never  heard  anything  of  the  boy?" 
asked  Gardwell.  "Has  the  judge  never  tried  to 
find  him?" 

"Nope,  not  him,"  said  Kufus.  "I  don't  be- 
lieve now  he  'd  go  across  the  road  to  hunt  him  up; 
he  is  that  set  when  he  once  gets  set,  and  he  is  set 
on  that,  although  it  will  be  a  happy  day  for  him 
if  ever  Tom  comes  back.  Oh,  I  reckon  he  '11  come 
back;  anyhow  Mrs.  Dunn  believes  he  will,  and  I 
kinder  do,  too." 

"It's  the  old  Puritan  blood,"  thought  Gard- 
well. Then  he  resumed  his  questions:  "But  the 
daughter,  she  must  be  nearly  grown  up  now." 

"Oh,  laws,  yes,"  said  Rufus;  "Harriet  is  a 
great  big  girl,  eighteen,  going  on  nineteen.  She  's 
been  off  to  boar  din '-school  and  just  come  back  last 
spring.  Lord,  but  she  's  a  han'some  gal;  I  never 
seen  a  han'somer  in  my  life.  And  smart,  too. 


34  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

Knows  a  heap  of  things  that  she  learned  in  books 
Down  East,  when  she  went  to  boar  din '-school. 
The  judge  hain't  got  much  money,  but  he  made 
up  his  mind  that  Harriet  should  get  a  good  edica- 
tion.  He  intended  to  do  the  same  thing  by  Tom, 
and  so  I  guess  he  is  trying  to  make  up  by  seeing 
that  Harriet  gets  all  the  edication,  seeing  that 
Tom  lost  his  chance," 

"Nineteen  years  old  and  handsome,"  said  Gard- 
well.  "Some  likely  young  fellow  will  be  coming 
along  and  marrying  her  before  long." 

"Oh,  yes;  that  won't  be  long,"  replied  Rufus. 
"Fact  is,  I  think,  as  most  of  the  neighbors  do, 
that  Emmersley,  the  lawyer  that  you  was  here 
with,  has  got  the  inside  track.  He  's  sort  a-snoop- 
ing  around  here,  and  from  what  I  see,  I  think 
Harriet  is  kinder  sweet  on  him." 

"Engaged?"  asked  Gardwell. 

"Oh,  no,  't ain't  got  along  that  far  yet,  but  they 
show  signs." 

"Emmersley  appears  to  be  a  very  promising 
young  man,"  said  Gardwell,  as  a  sort  of  a  feeler. 

"Oh,  he  's  smart,"  Rufus  replied,  "but  the  law 
ain't  his  best  holt.  Oh,  no,  indeed.  He  's  way  up 
on  economy  and  such  things.  Why,  he  can  tell  you 
how  much  it  costs  the  government  to  run,  and  how 
much  they  ought  to  pay  —  all  such  things,  and 
how  much  is  being  ground  out  of  the  people  by 
corporations.  Oh,  I  beg  pardon.  I  forgot  that 
you  was  one  of  those  corporations  folks." 

"Go  on,"  said  Gardwell.     "I  like  to  hear  about 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  35 

it.  So  he  thinks  corporations  are  the  ruin  of  the 
world,  does  he?" 

"Well,  he  thinks  that  they  —  well,  I  don't  know 
exactly  —  I  read  a  couple  of  articles  he  wrote  for 
the  '  Bowerville  Gazette, '  and  they  are  mighty  con- 
vincing. He  's  got  lots  of  people  'round  this  part 
of  the  country,  too,  that  believe  a  good  deal  what 
he  says.  He  makes  a  speech  once  in  a  while. 
He  belongs  to  a  club  out  here  that  investigates 
things." 

"He's  a  bright  young  man,"  said  Gardwell. 
"That's  excellent  capital  to  get  married  oh  —  a 
glib  tongue  and  a  disposition  to  use  it  to  rail 
against  the  existing  order  of  things." 

By  a  few  adroit  questions  he  speedily  shifted 
the  conversation  and  started  Rufus  upon  the  theme 
of  Bowerville,  a  theme  that  he  knew  by  heart. 

It  rarely  fell  to  the  lot  of  Rufus  to  have  so  good 
a  listener  as  Gardwell,  who,  as  his  garrulous  guide 
reeled  off  a  volume  of  data  concerning  the  little 
town  and  its  people,  sorted  it  over  in  his  mind  as 
it  came  from  the  reel,  casting  most  of  it  aside,  but 
now  and  then  treasuring  up  some  fact  or  circum- 
stance for  future  use.  Meanwhile  the  bracing 
country  air  gave  him  a  glow  such  as  he  had  not 
experienced  for  years;  so  that,  all  in  all,  he  felt 
that  he  had  spent  a  more  profitable  afternoon  than 
he  had  anticipated  when  he  accepted  the  judge's 
offer  placing  Rufus  and  the  horse  at  his  disposal. 


CHAPTER  IV 

GAKDWELL  had  now  formed  a  pretty  clear  esti- 
mate of  Judge  Dunn's  character  from  his  own 
observation,  from  what  he  had  heard  about  town, 
and  from  what  Eufus  had  told  him.  He  was  also 
mildly  interested  in  Emmersley,  but  it  was  not  a 
spirit  of  friendly  interest.  He  labeled  him  men- 
tally, and  placed  him  in  the  category  with  certain 
men  in  the  city  who  made  a  business  of  railing  at 
corporations,  the  money  power,  and  large  employers 
of  labor  in  general.  He  threw  them  all  together, 
—  anarchists,  socialists,  labor  unions,  agitators  and 
reformers,  —  for  the  whole  lot  of  whom  he  had  a 
profound  contempt  tempered  with  small  pity.  He 
felt  that  two  thirds  of  them  were  insincere,  and 
that  the  other  one  third  could  be  reached  by  vari- 
ous influences  should  occasion  require.  He  was 
fortified  in  this  opinion  by  his  own  experience, 
covering  a  period  of  ten  years.  He  considered 
Emmersley  as  dangerous,  but  not  viciously  so. 
He  knew  that  young  men  of  his  type,  vigorous, 
courageous  and  intelligent,  were  making  them- 
selves felt  in  the  political  world,  and  that  happen- 
ings in  the  political  world  were  of  direct  interest 
to  him,  inasmuch  as  they  created  legislative  bodies, 
which  in  turn  made  laws  that  were  growing  to  be 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  37 

very  essential  to  corporations.  A  law  passed  at 
a  time  when  needed  often  proved  an  absolution  for 
all  the  past  sins  of  a  corporation,  and  made  it  pos- 
sible for  the  corporation  managers  to  pursue  their 
old  policy  and  at  the  same  time  sin  no  more  —  in 
the  eyes  of  the  law.  Such  men  as  young  Emmers- 
ley,  when  found  in  legislative  bodies,  oftentimes 
proved  serious  stumbling-blocks  to  men  like  Gard- 
well.  He  pitied  Emmersley  and  his  kind,  because 
it  seemed  to  him  that  young  men  with  talents  and 
industry  could  make  so  much  more  of  what  is 
termed  "a  success  in  life"  by  being  on  the  other 
side. 

But  his  concern  about  Emmersley  was  only  a 
passing  thought.  He  was  like  a  mounted  swords- 
man, traversing  a  lonely  highway  through  a  dis- 
trict infested  by  robbers  armed  with  bludgeons  — 
so  long  as  the  robbers  kept  the  hedges  they  were 
of  no  concern  to  the  horseman;  but  should  they 
assail  him,  he  would  brush  them  aside.  So  long 
as  Emmersley  did  not  block  Gardwell's  path  he 
might  go  on  forever  doing  as  he  pleased;  but 
should  he  obstruct  the  way,  why,  he  would  have 
to  be  brushed  aside  or  crushed.  That  was  all 
there  was  to  it. 

Gardwell  and  Rufus  had  returned  from  their 
ride  before  court  had  adjourned,  and  Gardwell, 
having  alighted,  turned  and  offered  Rufus  a  silver 
dollar.  Rufus,  supposing  that  Gardwell  wished 
to  shake  hands,  extended  his  own,  but  when  he 
saw  the  coin  drew  back. 


38  THE   FEDERAL    JUDGE 

"I  don't  want  it.  I  don't  want  it,"  lie  repeated, 
shrinking  from  it  as  if  its  touch  meant  pollution. 

Gardwell  laughed. 

"Tut,  tut,  my  good  man,"  he  said;  "never  be 
afraid  to  take  money  when  it  is  freely  tendered." 

But  Rufus  shook  his  head,  screwed  up  his  eyes, 
and  compressed  his  lips. 

"Why,  what  is  the  matter?"  exclaimed  Gard- 
well, somewhat  piqued.  "Do  you  imagine  I'm 
bribing  you?  Here,  take  it." 

"I  'm  much  obliged,  Mr.  Gardwell,"  said  Rufus, 
"but  I  don't  want  it  said  I  ever  took  a  cent  of 
money  from  a  corporation  unless  I  earned  it,  and 
I  ain't  done  nothing  for  you  to-day.  It 's  Judge 
Dunn's  horse  and  buggy  anywray,  and  if  you  insist 
on  't  I  '11  take  the  money  and  turn  it  over  to  him." 

Gardwell  put  the  piece  of  silver  back  into  his 
pocket.  "You  are  a  worthy  man,  Rufus,"  he 
said,  "a  very  worthy  man,  and  I  respect  your  feel- 
ings. Beware  of  corporations,  and  never  let  them 
get  their  clutches  on  you  if  you  can  help  it."  He 
turned  and  walked  away.  "A  veritable  Arcadia 
is  this  Bowerville,"  he  muttered  as  he  ascended 
the  steps  of  the  court-house.  "A  place  where 
cigar  clerks  emulate  the  juvenile  Washington,  and 
hired  men  see  bribery  in  every  tip.  Verily  the 
judge  has  wielded  a  mighty  influence,"  and  Gard- 
well laughed  —  a  laugh  that  was  more  than  half - 
sneer. 

The  court  was  still  in  session,  and  a  lawyer  was 
addressing  the  jury  in  a  loud  voice,  and  fanning 


THE    FEDERAL   JUDGE  39 

the  air  with  his  arms.  Immediately  after  adjourn- 
ment, the  judge  came  down  from  the  bench  and 
shook  hands  with  Gardwell,  who  had  advanced  to 
meet  him. 

"How  did  you  enjoy  your  ride?"  asked  the 
judge. 

"Very  much  indeed;  I  never  had  a  pleasanter 
afternoon,"  said  Gardwell.  "You  live  in  a  beau- 
tiful place,  and  the  surrounding  country  is,  if  any- 
thing, more  beautiful  than  the  town." 

The  judge,  Gardwell  and  Emmersley  walked 
up  together,  it  being  somewhat  early.  Eufus 
brought  down  the  judge's  bundle  of  books,  and, 
driving  a  little  rapidly,  was  home  some  time  ahead 
of  them. 

"That  Gardwell  is  a  millionaire,"  said  he,  ad- 
dressing Betsy  as  he  entered  the  kitchen.  "He  's 
worth  millions  and  millions  of  dollars,  so  the  judge 
says,  and  I  tell  you  he  is  a  fine  gentleman.  He 
and  I  have  been  together  all  this  afternoon,  and 
we  had  a  fine  talk,  you  can  bet." 

"We  !  "  sniffed  Betsy.  "We  !  indeed  !  well,  he 
must  be  a  good  one  if  he  can  get  a  word  in  edge- 
wise with  you.  Bet  you  did  all  the  talking." 

"No,  I  didn't;  no,  sir  !  and  after  I  got  through 
and  got  to  the  court-house,  what  do  you  suppose 
he  offered  me?" 

"I  don't  know." 

"Offered  me  a  big  silver  dollar." 

"Eufus  Pease,"  said  Betsy,  setting  down  a  stew- 
pan,  and  looking  hard  at  Rufus,  "I  hope  you 


40  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

spurned  him.  If  you  didn't,  you  needn't  ever 
speak  to  me  again." 

"That 's  just  what  I  did,"  said  Rufus.  "I  told 
him  to  put  back  his  money,  that  I  would  n't  ever 
take  money  of  a  corporation.  Goodness,  but  he 
did  look  put  out.  I  didn't  take  so  awful  much 
stock  in  what  Emmersley  said  about  those  fellows, 
but  here  it  was,  the  first  thing,  offering  me  a 
bribe."  And  Rufus  straightened  up,  and  looked 
upon  himself  as  a  very  worthy  and  righteous  man; 
and  so  did  Betsy,  for  that  matter. 

When  the  three  men  arrived,  the  judge  intro- 
duced his  wife  and  daughter  to  Gardwell,  who 
bowed  very  low,  and  at  once  entered  into  that 
small-talk  of  which  he  was  such  a  master  when 
occasion  demanded.  They  stood  chatting  under 
a  great  elm  until  the  clang  of  an  old-fashioned 
dinner-bell  sounded  from  the  dining-room,  when 
the  judge  remarked :  — 

"Well,  folks,  dinner  is  ready;  Betsy  is  always 
prompt  —  never  a  minute  behind  or  a  minute 
ahead,"  and  he  led  the  way  to  the  house,  Gardwell 
offering  his  arm  to  Mrs.  Dunn,  and  Emmersley 
and  Harriet  following.  When  fairly  seated  at 
the  table,  Gardwell  launched  into  a  light  and 
pleasing  discourse  on  the  topics  of  the  day.  He 
could  be  extremely  entertaining  when  he  wished, 
and  he  had  special  reasons  for  wishing  it  on  this 
occasion.  He  complimented  Bowerville,  and  went 
into  ecstasies  over  the  scenery  of  the  surrounding 
country.  He  spoke  of  the  leading  men  of  the 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  41 

country  as  personal  acquaintances,  interspersing 
here  and  there  little  anecdotes  concerning  his  per- 
sonal relations  with  them,  in  all  of  which  he  fig- 
ured very  modestly.  To  the  ladies  he  was  espe- 
cially attentive,  and  it  did  not  escape  his  observant 
eye  that  Rufus  had  in  no  way  exaggerated  the  per- 
sonal charms  of  Miss  Harriet. 

Gardwell  had  a  wonderful  way  with  women. 
His  style  of  speech  with  them  was  widely  different 
from  that  used  by  him  when  conversing  with  men. 
Some  women  distrusted  him,  it  is  true,  but  he 
was  fascinating  to  them  all  at  times;  and  even 
those  whose  worldly  wisdom  or  instinct  warned 
them  of  danger  lurking  in  the  smile  of  that  won- 
derful mouth  felt  powerless  to  offer  a  rebuff,  no 
matter  what  his  eyes  seemed  about  to  say.  Not 
that  they  did  say  anything,  but  they  always  seemed 
on  the  point  of  doing  so;  and  it  was  the  women  of 
experience  who  were  in  most  of  a  flutter  when 
Gardwell  took  it  into  his  head  to  pay  them  atten- 
tion, whether  at  the  dinner-table,  in  the  ballroom, 
or  at  other  social  functions.  He  humbled  himself 
to  women  —  paid  them  a  sort  of  homage,  though 
there  was  a  something  in  his  eye,  back  of  it  all, 
that  seemed  to  say,  "To you  and  you  alone  I  bow." 

Mrs.  Dunn  softened  to  him  at  once,  but  Harriet 
was  very  quiet  and  reserved.  She  grew  more  con- 
fident after  a  little,  however,  and  threw  several 
sharp  glances  at  the  handsome  stranger,  so  unlike 
any  man  she  had  ever  met  before.  Gardwell  in 
turn  looked  hard  at  the  girl,  and  once  their  eyes 


42  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

met.  The  blood  rushed  to  Harriet's  face,  and 
Gardwell  immediately  diverted  attention  by  turn- 
ing to  the  judge  with  the  question :  — 

"Are  you  really  so  much  opposed  to  all  corpo- 
rations as  people  say  you  are? " 

It  was  a  bold  move,  and  one  that  a  man  less 
daring  and  with  less  confidence  in  his  own  powers 
would  not  have  ventured  under  the  circumstances. 
Swift  as  it  was,  however,  it  was  not  quick  enough 
to  escape  the  attention  of  Emmersley,  who  had 
seen  the  look  from  Gardwell  and  the  blush  that 
swept  over  Harriet's  face  as  she  bent  over  her  tea. 

The  judge  turned  a  searching  look  at  the  auda- 
cious guest,  and  the  point  of  his  beard  advanced 
with  a  jerk  which  told  to  Gardwell' s  acute  eye  that 
the  owner  had  set  his  jaws. 

"I  beg  your  pardon,  judge,"  he  continued,  before 
a  reply  could  be  made  to  the  question,  "I  some- 
times think  aloud,  and  this  was  one  of  the  times; 
but  now  that  I  have  gone  so  far,  I  may  as  well  go 
ahead.  I  took  a  stroll  about  your  beautiful  town 
this  morning,  and  found  that  the  small  case  which 
we  have  in  court  here  is  the  one  topic  of  conversa- 
tion. What  impressed  me  was  the  fact  that  all 
who  talked  of  it  closed  by  declaring  that  if  there 
was  one  place  on  earth  where  a  corporation  could 
not  get  an  undue  advantage,  it  was  in  Judge 
Dunn's  court.  I  could  not  dispute  that  assertion, 
and  yet,  on  the  other  hand,  I  could  not  recall  any 
rulings  on  your  part  that  warranted  the  reputation 
that  your  fellow  townsmen  give  you.  To  hear 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  43 

them  talk  one  would  suppose  that  you  were  of  the 
Kansas  Populist  type.  But  do  not  let  us  get  into 
the  discussion  of  so  dry  a  subject,  for  it  will  cer- 
tainly be  tiresome  to  the  ladies.  I  again  apologize 
for  the  imprudent  question  —  I  move  that  it  be 
stricken  from  the  record." 

"The  motion  is  overruled,"  said  the  judge,  "and 
it  will  stand.  The  question  was  a  frank  one,  and 
shall  have  a  frank  answer.  I  am  not  down  on 
corporations  in  the  abstract,  but  I  confess  that  in 
my  opinion  there  is  a  decided  tendency  on  their 
part  to  assume  powers  beyond  what  the  framers  of 
the  Constitution  and  the  early  lawmakers  intended, 
and  to  make  use  of  the  wealth  which  they  control 
in  ways  which  will  not  bear  the  scrutiny  of  honest 
men.  They  take  every  point  which  the  law  allows 
them,  and  then  add  a  few  more  obtained  by  the 
use  of  money  —  generally,  I  must  confess,  in  an 
indirect  way,  though  none  the  less  blameworthy 
because  they  do  not  violate  any  law  on  the  statute 
books.  The  effect  is  the  same  on  the  poor  litigant 
who  may  be  seeking  justice,  with  a  corporation 
and  all  its  forces  arrayed  against  him.  In  so  far 
as  I  have  always  tried  in  my  court  to  preserve  an 
equilibrium,  and  to  curtail  as  much  as  possible  the 
use  of  what  I  deem  improper  advantages  on  the 
part  of  corporations,  I  have  been  '  down  on  corpo- 
rations,' but  no  farther." 

Gardwell  listened  respectfully,  and  when  the 
judge  had  finished  said:  "I  would  that  the  same 
spirit  of  fairness  was  universal.  You,  however, 


44  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

see  only  one  side  of  the  question  or,  rather,  you  do 
not  see  things  as  we  see  them  from  our  stand- 
point," he  added,  with  a  smile. 

"I  hope  I  see  them  as  an  intelligent  man  and 
a  judicial  officer  should  see  them,"  replied  Judge 
Dunn,  straightening  up. 

"Undoubtedly,  but  how  often  have  we  seen  a 
jury,  influenced  by  the  claptrap  of  some  pettifog- 
ging attorney  against  a  corporation,  bring  in  a 
verdict  which  was  founded  on  prejudice,  and  which 
was  unsupported  either  by  law  or  evidence." 

"The  prejudice  that  has  grown  up  in  the  minds 
of  the  people,"  replied  the  judge,  "is  the  natural 
child  of  the  corporation,  begotten  by  the  policy  of 
greed  and  oppression  practiced  by  rich  corpora- 
tions. What  is  more,  this  child  grows  stronger 
every  day  —  christen  it  what  you  will,  Virtuous 
Indignation  or  Prejudice." 

"Well,"  resumed  Gardwell,  "we  would  be  only 
too  willing  to  strangle  the  child,  and  henceforth 
adjust  all  differences  according  to  the  strict  letter 
of  the  law." 

"The  law  is  a  broad  term,"  replied  the  judge. 
"Law  is  oftentimes  not  equity,  and  that  which  is 
not  equity  the  people  will  never  accept  as  the  law, 
even  though  it  is  crammed  down  their  throats  by 
the  supreme  court." 

The  others  had  not  spoken  during  this  tilt ;  and 
Gardwell,  like  a  boxer  who  has  felt  of  his  antago- 
nist by  making  a  few  leads  to  discover  the  force  of 
the  counter,  was  content  not  to  push  matters  fur- 


THE   FEDERAL  JUDGE  45 

ther.  He  saw,  as  he  had  anticipated,  that  Judge 
Dunn's  position  could  never  be  carried  by  direct 
assault ;  and  outside  of  a  desire  to  be  on  good  terms 
with  him,  as  he  was  with  most  of  the  judges  in  the 
State,  he  really  cared  very  little  what  Judge  Dunn 
thought  or  did,  for  that  matter.  He  had  come  to 
Bowerville  as  the  result  of  a  sudden  impulse,  some- 
thing which  he  rarely  acted  upon,  and,  after  all,  he 
wanted  nothing  beyond  the  friendship  of  the  judge. 
Friendship  was  a  seed  that  Gardwell  delighted  to 
plant,  and  none  knew  better  than  he  what  rich 
fruit  it  sometimes  bore  when  least  expected.  He 
had  sized  up  the  judge,  and  he  resolved  to  enter 
into  no  more  discussions  of  the  question  in  the 
future,  and  to  bring  this  one  to  a  close. 

"I  cry  '  Peccavi,'  "  he  said,  with  a  laugh,  "and 
ask  that  you  suspend  sentence.  I  have  already 
been  punished  enough  for  having  brought  this 
subject  up.  To  tell  the  truth,  I  have  not  been 
paying  the  strictest  attention  for  the  last  few 
moments,  as  my  eyes  have  been  feasting  upon  a 
picture,  the  subject  of  which  has  a  peculiar  fasci- 
nation for  me,"  and  he  looked  over  Harriet's  head 
at  a  water-color  hanging  on  the  wall.  It  was  a 
picture  of  several  butterflies  in  bright  colors. 

"It  is  one  of  Harriet's,  and  fairly  well  done," 
said  the  judge,  "although  she  has  not  been  strictly 
true  to  nature." 

"Again  I  differ  with  you,"  answered  Gardwell, 
"and  this  time  I  can  do  so  without  running  the 
risk  of  being  impolite.  I  think  they  are  remark- 


46  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

ably  true  to  nature.  Now,  for  instance,  I  can 
pick  them  out  and  tell  each  variety.  There  is  the 
Banded  Purple,  Basilarchia  arthemis ;  the  Red 
Spotted  Purple,  Basilarchia  astyanax,  with  the 
upper  surface  of  its  wings  a  velvety  indigo-black 
tinged  with  bluish  green.  Then  there  is  the  Red 
Admiral,  Vanessa  atalanta.  If  anything,  the 
orange-colored  band  on  the  forewing  is  hardly 
bright  enough,  although  most  people  would  think 
it  was  an  exaggeration.  Nothing  could  be  more 
perfect  than  that  little  Euptoieta  claudia.  In 
conformation  the  apex  of  the  forewing  is  perfect." 

Judge  Dunn's  eyes  glowed  while  Gardwell  was 
speaking,  Mrs.  Dunn  had  a  pleased  look  on  her 
face,  and  Harriet's  eyes  danced  with  joy.  It  was 
all  that  the  judge  could  do  to  refrain  from  inter- 
rupting Gardwell;  and  when  he  paused  for  an  in- 
stant and  looked  around,  the  judge  exclaimed :  — 

"You  take  an  interest  in  butterflies?  You 
speak  as  one  who  knows  the  order  Lepidoptera 
very  well." 

"Do  I  take  an  interest  in  butterflies ?"  cried 
Gardwell  enthusiastically.  "Why,  that  is  about 
the  only  thing  I  do  care  about.  To-day,  while 
out  driving  with  your  man,  it  was  all  I  could  do 
to  keep  my  seat  in  the  buggy,  and  it  took  some 
little  self-restraint,  I  assure  you,  to  keep  myself 
from  hopping  over  fences  and  across  fields  after  as 
choice  a  specimen  of  the  Hybrid  Purple,  Basilar- 
chia  astyanax-arthemis,  as  I  ever  saw  in  my  life. 
It  was  a  straggler,  and  you  know  they  abound 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  47 

only  along  a  narrow  belt  of  country  extending 
through  southern  Wisconsin  and  northern  Illinois 
eastward  to  the  coast.  I  can  see  it  yet,  with  the 
white  band  it  had  gotten  from  the  Banded  Purple, 
flashing  in  the  sunlight." 

"Well,  well,"  said  the  judge,  "you  and  I  have 
struck  a  topic  on  which  we  can  have  many  an  ar- 
gument, but  upon  which  there  can  be  no  disagree- 
ment or  ill  feeling.  I  am  passionately  fond  of 
butterflies  myself,  and  I  flatter  myself  that  I  have 
as  fine  a  collection  as  you  will  find  in  the  West." 

"I  have  a  few  butterflies  myself,"  said  Gardwell 
modestly,  "and,  by  the  way,  that  reminds  me,"  he 
continued,  reaching  into  his  pocket,  and  extract- 
ing a  package  addressed  to  him,  the  seal  of  which 
had  not  been  broken  —  "  that  reminds  me  that  I 
received  a  package  just  before  I  left  the  office.  It 
looks  very  much  as  though  it  might  be  a  specimen, 
although  I  am  not  certain."  He  broke  the  seal, 
and  lifting  the  cover  of  a  tin  box  revealed  a  but- 
terfly of  monstrous  size.  He  gazed  at  it  in  rapt 
admiration  for  a  moment,  and  then  exclaimed :  — 

"Ah,  it  is  the  Black  Witch,  Erebus  odora,  a 
specimen  I  have  been  looking  for  for  some  time." 

He  passed  it  over  to  the  judge.  An  exclama- 
tion of  admiration  sprang  from  the  judge's  lips. 

"Isn't  it  magnificent !  "  an  adjective  which  he 
reserved  solely  for  butterflies. 

Gardwell  and  the  judge  were  soon  engaged  in 
an  animated  discussion  on  butterflies  and  their 
habits,  and  they  were  speedily  entangled  in  an 


48  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

argument  concerning  the  specimen  which  Gardwell 
had  brought  with  him. 

One  contended  that  the  Black  Witch  bred  only 
in  the  West  Indies,  while  the  other  was  positive 
that  this  was  not  strictly  true,  but  that  the  moth 
frequently  bred  in  the  southern  part  of  the  United 
States.  At  the  height  of  the  argument,  the  judge 
broke  into  laughter  for  very  joy  over  his  new  ac- 
quaintance, and  Gardwell  said :  — 

"Well,  here  we  go  again,  leaving  the  ladies  and 
Mr.  Emmersley  to  play  the  part  of  silent  listen- 
ers." 

"You  do  not  know  how  glad  I  am  to  meet  a 
man  who  has  made  a  study  of  the  interesting  fam- 
ily Lepidoptera,"  said  Judge  Dunn,  "but  come; 
I  want  to  take  you  up  to  my  butterfly  study.  I 
think  you  will  enjoy  an  hour  or  so  there." 

As  they  rose  from  the  table,  he  turned  to  Em- 
mersley and  added:  "Never  mind,  Emmersley, 
you  can  stay  down  here  with  the  ladies.  I  have 
had  you  up  there  often  enough,  but  I  never  could 
get  you  interested  in  my  pets.  Now  I  have  got 
a  man  after  my  own  heart.  Right  this  way,  Mr. 
Gardwell,"  and  he  led  the  way  to  the  staircase. 

Quite  content  to  heed  the  instructions  of  his 
host,  Emmersley  followed  the  ladies  into  the  par- 
lor. 

Emmersley  was  usually  an  entertaining  compan- 
ion for  Mrs.  Dunn,  as  well  as  for  Harriet,  but  to- 
night he  was  strangely  moody  and  silent.  Mrs. 
Dunn  noticed  this,  and  thinking  that  perhaps  he 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  49 

wished  to  be  alone  with  Harriet,  made  as  an  excuse 
that  she  would  have  to  assist  Betsy  in  the  kitchen, 
and  left  them. 

"I  am  so  glad  that  Mr.  Gardwell  likes  butter- 
flies," began  Harriet.  "It  will  be  such  a  treat  to 
papa.  Isn't  it  perfectly  delightful,  Mr.  Emmers- 
ley?" 

"It  is  certainly  a  wonderful  coincidence,  Miss 
Dunn,"  replied  Emmersley  dryly.  He  usually 
called  her  Harriet,  and  more  than  once  when  they 
were  alone  she  had  addressed  him  as  Kobert. 

The  truth  was  that  Emmersley  looked  upon 
Gardwell  as  a  hawk  that  had  flown  into  his  own 
particular  dove-cote.  He  had  resolved,  when  walk- 
ing home  with  the  judge  and  Gardwell,  not  to  be 
outshone  in  conversation  by  this  polished  stranger 
from  the  city;  but  for  some  reason  or  other  when 
it  came  to  talking,  he  had  found  himself  wholly 
unable  to  find  words,  and  had  scarcely  opened  his 
mouth  during  the  entire  meal. 

Harriet  noticed  his  emphasis  on  the  "Miss 
Dunn,"  and  resented  it,  womanlike,  or  rather  gill- 
like,  for  Harriet  was  as  yet  more  of  a  girl  than  a 
woman.  She  immediately  poured  oil  on  the  smoul- 
dering embers  of  Emmersley 's  anger. 

"I  think  he  's  perfectly  lovely,  don't  you?  He 
uses  such  beautiful  language." 

"He  is  quite  brilliant,"  Emmersley  admitted, 
"and  he  reminds  me  very  much  of  the  butterfly 
called  the  Monarch,  which  your  father  has  in  his 
collection :  exceedingly  showy  and  pleasing  to  the 


50  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

eye,  but  if  you  squeeze  it  a  trifle  it  is  not  so 
pleasant." 

Harriet  knew  the  species  mentioned,  and  felt 
the  force  of  the  comparison. 

**You  always  did  take  violent  prejudices,"  she 
said,  "but  I  think  you  are  hardly  warranted  in 
thus  judging  a  man  whom  you  have  seen  only  a 
few  moments,  and  then  under  our  roof  as  a  guest." 

"They  are  all  alike,"  replied  Emmersley  gloom- 
ily; "and  I  '11  warrant  you  that  if  this  man  Gard- 
well  was  what  he  seemed  to-night,  he  wouldn't  be 
worth  a  million  of  dollars,  as  he  is  now." 

There  was  a  pause  in  the  conversation,  and  they 
could  hear  the  voices  of  the  judge  and  Gardwell 
upstairs  engaged  in  an  animated  discussion. 

"Well,"  remarked  Harriet,  "I  am  sorry  he 
does  n't  please  you,  but  on  the  other  hand  I  am 
very  glad  that  papa  has  met  some  one  who  can  ap- 
preciate his  love  for  butterflies.  You  never  did." 

"I  have  had  more  serious  business  than  chasing 
butterflies,"  Emmersley  retorted. 

"  Oh,  it  has  n't  hurt  papa  any,  so  far  as  I  can 
see,"  put  in  Harriet,  with  a  toss  of  her  head.  "He 
has  managed  to  attend  to  his  business  fairly  well." 

Emmersley  realized  that  he  had  made  a  blunder, 
and  did  not  venture  a  reply.  After  pulling  at  his 
little  mustache  for  a  few  moments,  while  Harriet 
hummed  a  tune,  he  arose  to  leave. 

"Well,  I  must  bid  you  good-evening,  Miss 
Dunn,"  he  said  stiffly.  "I  have  a  case  that  I  must 
study  up  on  a  little  to-night.  Please  excuse  me  to 
your  father  and  mother." 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  51 

Harriet  got  his  hat,  and  as  he  passed  out  the 
door,  said,  "Good-night,  Mr.  Emmersley,  I  hope 
you  will  call  again."  Then  she  shut  the  door, 
and,  walking  back  into  the  parlor,  addressed  these 
words  to  a  pouting  young  miss  who  looked  at  "her 
from  the  old-fashioned  mirror :  — 

"The  foolish  old  thing  !  I  do  believe  he  is  jeal- 
ous." 

"Here  is  what  I  call  my  butterfly  study,"  said 
the  judge,  laughing,  as  he  ushered  Gardwell  into 
a  little  square  room  at  the  head  of  the  stairs. 
"Harriet  calls  it  '  the  atelier,'  — she  has  a  smat- 
tering of  French,  you  know,  —  and  in  fact  it  is  a 
workshop,  too,  as  you  see." 

He  pointed,  as  he  spoke,  to  a  bench  between 
two  windows,  upon  which  were  pins,  tweezers, 
coils  of  fine  wire,  a  bottle  of  chloroform,  some 
specimens  of  larvae  in  a  jar  of  alcohol,  and  all  the 
little  odds  and  ends  that  an  entomologist  would 
use. 

"At  this  bench,  at  least,"  he  continued,  "nei- 
ther big  bugs  nor  little  find  favor  —  all  are  pun- 
ished alike,  and  " 

"Are  given  the  extreme  penalty  of  the  law," 
dryly  interrupted  Gardwell,  joining  the  jurist  in 
the  laugh  with  which  he  supplemented  his  little 
joke. 

Gardwell' s  eyes  swept  the  walls,  which  were 
almost  literally  covered  with  evidences  of  the 
judge's  industry. 


52  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

"Well,  what  do  you  think  of  it?"  asked  the 
latter,  with  a  touch  of  pride  in  his  voice. 

"Wonderful!"  exclaimed  Gardwell;  and  then 
after  a  pause,  still  gazing  with  apparent  wonder 
at  the  marvelous  array  of  gossamer-winged  insects, 
he  slipped  his  arm  through  that  of  his  host  and 
reiterated  the  word  in  an  underbreath,  "Wonder- 
ful !  Wonderful !  " 

This  consummate  bit  of  acting  touched  the 
judge.  He  tightened  his  arm  to  the  grasp  of 
Gardwell,  and  led  him  around  the  room  expatiat- 
ing upon  the  interesting  features  of  his  collection, 
announcing  them,  severally,  as  he  came  to  them, 
with  some  such  expression  as  "My  Wisconsin  col- 
lection, just  a  hundred  varieties,"  or,  "My  collec- 
tion of  Exotics,"  or,  "These  are  my  hybrids,"  and 
so  on.  "Another  piece  of  Harriet's  work,"  he 
said,  as  they  stopped  in  front  of  a  full-length  can- 
vas of  gay  hollyhocks  over  which  a  bevy  of  but- 
terflies were  hovering,  and  beneath  which  the  artist 
had  written  the  words :  — 

"  Queen  hollyhocks,  with  butterflies  for  crowns." 

"That  is  a  line  of  Jean  Ingelow's,  I  believe," 
remarked  the  judge,  as  Gardwell  read  it  aloud. 

"More  poetry  in  the  picture  than  in  the  verse," 
was  Gardwell 's  reply. 

"I  think  so  myself.  Here  is  something  you 
have  often  seen,  if  you  have  ever  done  any  snipe 
shooting."  He  pointed  to  a  corner  of  the  room 
where  stood  a  cluster  of  cat-tails,  looking  as  fresh 
as  though  still  growing  on  the  boggy  edge  of  a 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  53 

mere,  and  upon  the  brown  spikes  of  which  a  group 
of  sulphur -winged  butterflies  seemed  to  have  just 
lighted. 

Gardwell  went  into  ecstasies  over  this,  as  he 
had  over  everything  else  in  the  room.  He  had 
discovered  that  the  judge's  enthusiasm  grew  apace 
with  his  own,  and  inwardly  wondered  how  long  he 
would  be  able  to  sustain  his  own  without  the  judge 
detecting  the  counterfeit.  He  had  a  wonderfully 
retentive  memory,  and  realized,  during  that  hour 
in  the  judge's  study,  that  he  had  not  spent  nearly 
a  whole  day  and  the  larger  part  of  two  nights 
studying  up  on  butterflies  for  nothing.  Occasion- 
ally, it  is  true,  the  judge  led  him  into  rather  deep 
water,  but  Gardwell  always  managed  to  shift 
around  and  get  back  to  where  he  knew  his  sound- 
ings. And  then,  on  the  other  hand,  he  had  ven- 
tured in  one  or  two  instances  to  correct  the  judge 
in  slight  errors,  mere  slips  of  the  tongue,  which 
the  judge  acknowledged  with,  "I  stand  corrected 
and  thank  you  for  setting  me  right."  His  fluency 
in  the  nomenclature  of  the  genus  Lepidoptera  had 
amazed  the  judge,  who  at  length  inwardly  admitted 
that  in  that  respect  Gardwell  was  his  superior. 

"Oh,  I  haven't  shown  you  my  masterpiece,"  he 
said,  as  they  were  about  to  leave  the  room.  He 
took  from  a  cabinet  a  polished  case,  and  raising 
the  glass  lid  disclosed  to  the  astonished  vision  of 
his  visitor  a  butterfly  which  from  tip  to  tip  of  its 
distended  wings  measured  no  less  than  twelve 
inches. 


54  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

"This  gigantic  hybrid  is  not  classified  in  the 
books,"  he  continued,  laughing.  "I  have  named 
it  the  '  E  pluribus  unum; '  examine  it  closely." 

Gardwell  did  so,  and  then  discovered  that  what 
at  first  glance  appeared  to  be  a  colossal  butterfly, 
was  only  such  in  form,  being  a  collection  of  small 
butterflies  so  carefully  and  symmetrically  disposed 
as  to  colors  as  to  produce  the  most  realistic  effect. 
Gardwell  really  blushed  when  he  discovered  the 
deception;  and  the  judge,  mistaking  the  cause, 
•clapped  him  on  the  shoulder,  saying,  "Caught 
you  napping  that  time,  didn't  I?" 

A  half-hour  later,  they  went  downstairs  arm 
in  arm,  and  talking  together  as  though  they  had 
known  each  other  for  years. 

"You  do  not  know  how  I  envy  you  that  beauti- 
ful specimen,  the  Witch,"  said  the  judge,  when 
they  were  again  in  the  parlor.  "I  have  been  look- 
ing for  one  of  those  fellows  for  a  long  time,  but 
my  facilities  are  not  what  they  might  be;  and 
really,  after  all,  the  pleasure  of  the  chase  is  one 
of  the  beauties  of  butterfly  collecting." 

"  You  did  not  capture  all  those  specimens  which 
you  have,"  said  Gardwell.  "You  have  some  that 
are  not  natives  of  this  climate  and  never  drift  here, 
in  fact."  , 

"Oh,  no,"  replied  the  judge,  "I  have  had  some 
sent  to  me." 

Gardwell  had  laid  the  butterfly  in  the  box  on 
the  table  before  he  went  upstairs,  and  Harriet 
came  bringing  it  to  him  as  he  was  holding  his  hat 
in  his  hand  about  to  bid  the  judge  good-night. 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  55 

"You  left  your  Black  Witch  on  the  table,"  she 
said.  "Isn't  he  perfectly  lovely?  " 

"I  intended  to  leave  it  there,  Miss  Dunn,"  re- 
plied Gardwell;  "it  will  fittingly  grace  the  collec- 
tion upstairs,  which  is  as  fine  a  collection  as  I  have 
ever  seen." 

"Oh,  no,  indeed  !  "  interrupted  the  judge.  "I 
can't  accept  it,  really  I  can't.  Why,  it  is  one  of 
the  rarest  specimens  in  this  country,  and  you  cer- 
tainly haven't  got  one  yourself,  or  you  wouldn't 
be  getting  this." 

"I  will  find  another  sooner  or  later,"  said  Gard- 
well. "  And  perhaps  I  have  better  opportunities 
for  getting  one  than  you.  So  under  the  circum- 
stances I  must  insist  that  you  accept  it  as  a  slight 
acknowledgment  of  the  pleasure  and  profit  derived 
from  the  hour  spent  in  your  atelier."  He  smiled 
and  glanced  at  Harriet  as  he  used  the  word,  and 
she  seemed  pleased.  The  judge  hesitated.  After 
all,  it  was  nothing  but  a  butterfly,  but  it  was  a 
butterfly  that  he  had  been  longing  for  for  years. 
He  looked  at  the  glossy,  black  wings,  and  was 
just  about  to  accept  the  present,  when  it  flashed 
upon  him  that  he  had  met  this  man  only  a  few 
hours  ago;  that  they  had  nothing  in  common,  and 
in  fact  that  in  everything  but  butterflies  they  were 
widely  at  variance  in  their  views. 

"No,"  he  said  decisively,  "I  cannot  accept  it, 
Mr.  Gardwell.  I  appreciate  your  kindness,  but 
I  must  firmly  insist;  under  no  circumstances  will 
I  allow  you  to  rob  yourself  of  this  treasure." 


56  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

Gardwell  continued  to  urge  it  upon  him,  but  he 
stoutly  held  his  ground.  "Very  well,"  laughed 
Gardwell,  "then  I  have  nothing  left  to  do  but  to 
present  it  to  Miss  Harriet  here,  with  my  compli- 
ments ;  and  if  she  will  make  a  water-color  sketch 
of  it,  I  shall  consider  that  I  have  made  a  good 
bargain."  He  handed  the  Black  Witch  to  Harriet 
as  he  spoke  and  stepped  out  on  the  porch,  for  the 
conversation  had  taken  place  in  the  doorway. 

"Remember,  Miss  Dunn,  it  is  a  bargain."  He 
tripped  down  the  steps,  bidding  them  good-night. 

"Oh,  papa,"  cried  Harriet,  throwing  her  arms 
around  her  father's  neck  as  he  shut  the  door,  "I 
am  so  glad  you  have  got  the  Black  Witch.  And 
I  am  to  earn  it  for  you." 

"I  don't  exactly  relish  the  way  in  which  I  ob- 
tained it,"  said  the  judge,  admiring  it;  "but,"  he 
added,  "it 's  a  magnificent  specimen,  Harriet." 

As  Gardwell  walked  briskly  to  the  hotel,  where 
he  had  instructed  young  Bracy  to  engage  a  room 
for  him,  he  thought  over  the  events  of  the  day, 
and  he  wondered  at  the  strange  elasticity  of  his 
limbs  and  the  feeling  of  buoyancy  that  thrilled 
through  him.  "What  I  need  is  a  little  more  rest 
like  this,  now  and  then,"  he  mused.  Then  he 
plunged  into  another  vein  of  thought,  the  trend  of 
which  the  reader  may  guess  from  its  conclusion, 
which  Gardwell  expressed  in  this  way :  — 

"  A  fine  gentleman ;  an  honest  man ;  an  upright 
judge,  but  —  human." 


CHAPTER  V 

GAKDWELL  went  down  to  breakfast  the  next 
morning  with  the  feeling  that  he  had  put  in  a  good 
day,  and  that  his  work  was  finished.  He  was  a 
man  much  given  to  letting  well  enough  alone,  and 
he  had  no  desire  to  do  anything  now  that  might 
in  any  way  imperil  the  friendship  that  had  sprung 
up  between  himself  and  the  judge.  He  was  for 
jumping  on  a  train  and  hurrying  back  to  the  city, 
but  it  occurred  to  him  that  that  would  look  rather 
strange,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  he  had  taken  such 
pains  to  explain  that  he  was  at  Bowerville  to  see 
how  his  young  protege  would  do  on  his  first  ap- 
pearance in  court.  Besides,  he  had  left  the  judge 
feeling  jubilant  over  the  prospect  of  continuing  the 
discussion  of  butterflies,  and  he  also  remembered 
that  he  had  more  than  half  accepted  an  invitation 
to  stay  over  and  join  the  judge  on  a  little  fishing 
trip. 

It  is  true  that  Gardwell  had  not  had  a  rod  in 
hand  for  many  a  summer,  but  he  looked  back  to 
his  earlier  days,  when  he  had  whipped  the  waters 
of  Eastern  lakes  and  streams,  and  remembered  that 
it  was  while  on  a  fishing  trip  with  the  president  of 
the  great  P.  Q.  &  R.  S.  Railroad  that  he  had  laid 
the  foundation  of  his  fortune.  He  had  gained  the 


58  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

friendship  of  that  great  man  by  judiciously  indi- 
cating to  him  the  best  casting-ground  and  at  the 
same  time  contriving  to  lose  a  large  percentage  of 
the  fish  that  he  himself  had  hooked.  He  had  not 
had  a  day  of  rest  in  the  country  for  two  years, 
and  the  little  taste  of  being  free  from  the  care  and 
worry  of  his  great  business  interests  made  him 
more  of  a  boy ;  so  he  did  what  was  for  him  a  very 
unusual  thing.  He  flipped  a  half-dollar  into  the 
air,  after  he  was  dressed,  and  before  it  struck  the 
floor,  cried,  "Heads  !  "  and  bending  over,  looked 
at  the  coin  as  it  lay  on  the  dingy  carpet. 

"Heads  it  is!"  he  exclaimed.  "For  a  man 
that  has  throttled  fate  a  dozen  times,  it  is  odd  that 
I  should  let  it  decide  this  point.  But  I  abide  by 
the  decision,  and  for  two  days  at  least  I  shall 
wander,  free  from  worry,  in  this  Elysium  of  rustic 
simplicity.  Butterflies  and  bass  are,  after  all,  a 
welcome  change  from  a  surfeit  of  bonds  and  bank- 
ers. I  need  a  rest." 

And  Gardwell  went  down  to  the  breakfast-table 
actually  humming  a  snatch  from  an  old  tune. 

He  found  young  Bracy  waiting  for  him,  and  the 
young  man  advanced  with  a  smiling  face  and  a 
look  of  boyish  expectancy  and  confidence  that 
pleased  the  elder  man. 

"I  think  I  have  got  everything  in  shape,"  said 
Bracy,  "and  I  have  little  doubt  but  we  shall  be 
successful  in  the  action." 

Gardwell  smiled,  and  while  they  were  at  break- 
fast he  took  occasion  to  caution  Bracy  not  to  be 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  59 

too  fiery  in  fighting  the  case,  but  to  be  calm  and 
to  refrain  from  injudicious  and  intemperate  re- 
marks in  the  heat  of  the  trial. 

"I  shall  not  be  surprised,"  he  said,  "if  the  jury 
returns  a  verdict  against  us.  We  are  not  in  Mai- 
ton  now." 

When  the  young  man  again  met  Gardwell,  he 
had  fought  his  first  battle  and  lost.  It  was  as 
Gardwell  had  anticipated.  Some  rather  good 
legal  points  made  by  Emmersley,  the  bellowing 
eloquence  of  his  associate  counsel,  who  had  served 
through  the  war  with  half  of  the  jurymen,  and  a 
charge  based  on  equity  rather  than  on  fine  legal 
technicalities,  were  the  factors  that  secured  a  ver- 
dict for  the  farmer  litigant.  Gardwell  entered 
the  court-room  just  as  the  jury  came  in  with  its 
verdict. 

He  made  his  way  up  to  the  judge's  bench,  and 
after  a  friendly  greeting  asked  if  he  would  have 
time  to  walk  with  him  to  the  train  for  Malton. 

"Why,  you  are  not  going  to  leave  now,  Mr. 
Gardwell?  "  asked  the  judge,  somewhat  surprised. 
"You  promised  to  take  that  fishing  trip  with  me 
to-morrow,  and  besides,  we  —  I  was  looking  for- 
ward to  another  argument  on  butterflies  this  even- 
ing." 

Gardwell  said  something  about  business  calling 
him  back,  but  the  judge  laid  a  hand  on  his  shoul- 
der familiarly  and  said,  "Mr.  Gardwell,  I  can't 
release  you;  I  can't  let  you  go.  I  must  have  an- 
other talk  with  you.  And,  by  the  way,  you  were 


60  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

wrong  about  the  MorpJio  menelaus:  their  wings 
sometimes  have  an  expanse  of  six  inches.  I  knew 
I  was  right,  but  have  since  verified  my  statement." 

"I  never  have  met  with  one  so  large,"  replied 
Gardwell,  "and  still  think  that  the  largest  yet 
found  north  of  latitude  25°  did  not  exceed  five 
inches." 

"Oh,  possibly  that's  so,"  said  the  judge.  "At 
any  rate  we  must  continue  the  argument;  you  don't 
know  how  interesting  it  is  for  me  to  hear  about 
the  family  Lepidoptera  from  some  one  who  knows 
and  understands  it  as  you  do." 

The  judge  was  so  decided  and  yet  so  courteous 
in  his  manner  that  Gardwell  deemed  it  politic  not 
to  break  away,  and  finally  agreed  to  spend  the 
evening  with  the  judge  and  also  to  stay  over  Sat- 
urday for  the  fishing  trip. 

"  I  'm  going  to  take  you  to  some  fishing  such  as 
you  probably  have  never  had,"  said  the  judge. 
"There  is  a  lake  not  far  from  here  in  which  at 
this  season  of  the  year  we  ought. to  find  some  very 
good  muscallonge  fishing.  You  talk  about  bass  ! 
You  want  to  catch  a  muscallonge  !  " 

"Oh,"  observed  Gardwell,  "a  muscallonge,  so 
far  as  I  have  heard,  is  very  much  like  a  large  pick- 
erel; give  me  a  bass  every  time.  Nothing  can  be 
gamier  than  a  small-mouthed  red-eye." 

"Well,"  said  the  judge,  "we  will  settle  that 
question  to-morrow,  but  be  sure  and  be  up  to  the 
house  this  evening." 

While  Gardwell  could  not  help   admiring  the 


THE  FEDERAL  JUDGE  61 

judge's  enthusiasm  for  his  hobby,  he  was  not  quite 
sure  of  his  own  ability  to  sustain  the  role  of  an 
enthusiastic  lepidopterist  for  another  evening  with- 
out either  being  bored  or  suffering  detection. 
Nevertheless  he  accepted  the  judge's  urgent  invi- 
tation. 


CHAPTER  VI 

IT  is  the  little  things,  after  all,  that  overturn 
the  best  laid  plans  of  men :  a  speck  of  dust  stops 
the  delicate  machinery  of  the  watch;  a  broken  belt 
shatters  the  Corliss  engine,  and  a  small  favor  or 
a  trifling  slight  causes  a  man  to  enlist  himself 
under  one  of  two  banners  and  ever  after  to  fight 
under  it.  No  one  knew  this  better  than  Gardwell ; 
but  while  he  had,  with  so  trivial  a  subject  as  but- 
terflies, gained  the  friendship  of  Judge  Dunn,  he 
had  also  by  a  word  made  an  enemy  who  was  des- 
tined to  cut  a  material  figure  in  making  the  con- 
summation of  his  plans  exceedingly  difficult,  — 
with  what  degree  of  success  will  develop  later  on. 

Emmersley  disliked  Gardwell  only  in  a  general 
way,  and  would  scarcely  have  given  him  a  thought 
when  once  away  from  Bowerville.  His  jealousy 
was  so  foolish  that  he  himself  realized  it  five  min- 
utes after  leaving  Harriet  Thursday  evening. 

Gardwell  spent  a  very  pleasant  evening  with  the 
judge,  most  of  it  in  the  butterfly  room,  but  the 
talk  was  not  all  on  butterflies.  The  judge  had 
none  too  iiigh  an  opinion  of  old  Colonel  Corcoran 
Cawker,  the  associate  of  Emmersley  in  the  case, 
and  did  not  hesitate  to  frankly  express  it.  He 
cared  little  that  a  verdict  had  been  brought  in 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  63 

against  the  great  corporation  which  Gardwell  con- 
trolled, and  yet  he  was  too  good  a  jurist  not  to 
know  that  it  would  not  stand.  He  knew,  too, 
that  the  verdict  had  been  obtained  by  an  undue 
use  of  the  lever  of  anti-corporation  sentiment,  — 
so  strong  among  the  country  folk,  —  and  he  was 
too  just  a  man  at  heart  not  to  feel  ashamed  of  it. 
Gardwell  made  light  of  the  whole  matter,  declared 
that  it  was  the  every-day  experience  of  his  legal 
force  and  of  corporation  lawyers  in  general,  and 
that  nothing  else  could  be  expected  in  view  of  the 
constant  warfare  waged  by  designing  politicians 
and  demagogues  of  every  stripe. 

"And  yet,  Mr.  Gardwell,"  said  the  judge,  with 
a  twinkle  in  his  eye,  "I  do  not  think  that  any 
great  harm  has  been  done.  The  corporation  is 
rarely  imposed  upon  in  the  long  run.  The  wasp 
has  stung  the  lion,  but  the  lion  will  brush  the 
wasp  off  and  afterwards  eat  a  sheep,  or  a  bullock, 
if  need  be." 

Gardwell  made  no  reply,  and  the  judge  brought 
out  a  specimen  which  he  had  overlooked  the  night 
before.  The  two  men  discussed  the  judge's  hobby 
until  Gardwell's  face,  excellent  actor  though  he 
was,  plainly  showed  that  he  had  grown  weary. 

"Enough  of  butterflies  !  "  exclaimed  the  judge. 
"Let  us  go  downstairs  and  talk  about  our  little 
fishing  trip.  If  I  can  have  you  hook  a  muscallonge, 
I  shall  feel  that  I  have,  in  a  small  measure,  repaid 
you  for  your  magnificent  gift  of  the  Black  Witch 
to  my  daughter." 


64  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

When  they  were  downstairs  and  fairly  into  the 
topic  of  fishing,  Harriet  joined  in  the  conversation. 

"Oh,"  she  cried  with  girlish  enthusiasm,  "I  do 
love  to  fish.  Bob  and  I  —  I  mean  Mr.  Emmers- 
ley,"  she  added,  with  a  little  flush  —  "he  —  I  —  we 
—  caught  six  fine  bass  one  day  last  July  just  after 
I  came  home  from  school.  I  landed  the  very  big- 
gest, too,  a  four-pounder." 

"I  never  could  bear  to  catch  fish,"  remarked 
Mrs.  Dunn  quietly.  "It  always  seemed  to  me  so 
cruel  to  kill  them  just  for  the  sport." 

"We  don't  kill  them  for  the  sport,  mamma," 
replied  Harriet  archly.  "  You  know  Uncle  Spencer 
likes  fish,  so  do  all  his  folks,  and  then  there  's  the 
poor  Pecks,  and  the  Smolleys,  and  goodness  knows 
who  else.  Our  bass  and  pickerel  are  never 
wasted." 

"I  know  that,"  assented  Mrs.  Dunn,  "but  I 
never  knew  of  your  exerting  yourself  for  the  poor 
of  the  town  in  any  other  way." 

"Well,  I  do  love  to  fish,  and  I  like  to  land  a 
big  fellow,"  said  Harriet  fervently. 

"I  must  say  that  I  agree  with  you,  Miss  Dunn," 
put  in  Gardwell,  "although  I  can't  claim  that  I 
ever  fished  with  the  idea  of  feeding  the  multitude. 
It 's  a  long  time  since  I  had  a  rod  in  hand,  and 
my  fingers  tingle  now  to  feel  the  thrill  of  a  strike 
from  a  bass.  And  I  ask  nothing  better  than  a 
bass,  either,  with  all  deference  to  the  judge's  mus- 
callonge." 

"I  don't  know  about  that,"  said  Harriet,   "I 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  65 

want  to  land  a  muscallonge  next  year.  I  have 
lost  three  this  season." 

The  judge  had  been  in  a  sort  of  reverie  while 
this  conversation  was  going  on.  He  had  been 
looking  at  GardwelTs  frank,  smiling  face,  and 
thinking  what  a  pity  it  was  that  such  a  man,  one 
who  loved  nature  and  fishing  and  butterflies  (no 
one  who  loved  butterflies  could  help  being  right  at 
heart  in  the  judge's  eyes),  s-hould  devote  his  life 
to  gathering  wealth  for  himself  and  for  others  who 
already  had  too  much,  by  methods  which  he  viewed 
as  extremely  questionable,  to  say  the  least. 

"  You  will  speak  more  respectfully  of  the  mus- 
callonge by  to-morrow  night,"  said  he,  rousing  up 
at  the  mention  of  his  name.  "  But  we  must  make 
an  early  start;  and  as  the  guide  who  is  bound  to 
furnish  you  good  sport  to-morrow,  I  must  '  sound 
taps,'  as  we  used  to  say  in  the  army." 

"Papa  sends  everybody  to  bed  early  when  he 
has  them  down  for  a  fishing  trip  the  next  day," 
said  Harriet,  laughing.  "He  makes  little  cere- 
mony of  it,  either." 

"Nor  should  he,"  assented  Gardwell,  rising.  "I 
shall  be  ready  to  report,  sir,  at  any  hour  you 
name." 

"Five  o'clock,"  said  the  judge;  "sharp  at  five 
Rufus  and  I  will  be  at  the  hotel  with  the  buck- 
board." 

Gardwell  was  bidding  the  ladies  good-by,  and 
expressing  the  hope  that  he  might  meet  them  in 
the  city  some  time  in  the  near  future,  when  the 
judge  interrupted:  — 


66  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

"  Oh,  you  '11  see  them  to-morrow.  They  will 
drive  over  with  our  lunch  about  noon." 

Elliot  Gardwell,  head  man  of  the  Trans-Ameri- 
can Railroad,  the  active,  never-tiring  genius  who 
controlled,  through  their  poeketbooks,  the  destinies 
of  hundreds  of  bondholders  and  thousands  who 
had  no  bonds;  a  man  of  whom  it  had  been  said 
he  never  slept,  had  no  wakeful  thoughts  that  night, 
for  he  went  to  sleep  almost  as  soon  as  he  touched 
the  bed.  It  was  the  first  time  in  ten  years  that  he 
had  missed  reading  his  daily  newspaper. 

The  alarm  in  his  watch  under  the  pillow  awoke 
him  at  four  o'clock,  and  he  sprang  out  of  bed  and 
dressed  by  the  light  of  a  smoky  kerosene  lamp. 
He  found  the  landlord  up,  and  a  cup  of  hot  coffee 
ready  for  him.  He  finished  his  coffee  and  rolls, 
—  home-made  ones  and  just  baked,  —  and  he  won- 
dered if  the  cook  had  stayed  up  all  night  to  pre- 
pare them  for  him,  and  with  a  cigar  in  his  mouth 
and  half  a  dozen  in  his  pockets  he  stood  on  the 
veranda  of  the  hotel,  and  looked  down  the  street 
of  the  sleepy  town.  Presently  there  was  the  rum- 
ble of  wagon  wheels,  and  the  buckboard,  with 
Rufus  driving  and  the  judge  seated  behind,  turned 
a  corner  and  rolled  up  to  the  hotel. 

"Right  on  time,"  said  the  judge;  "it  is  exactly 
five  according  to  my  watch.  Jump  aboard,  you 
won't  need  anything.  I  have  brought  tackle  and 
a  pair  of  overalls  for  you." 

The  sun  was  just  beginning  to  redden  the  east, 
and  the  dawn  betokened  another  beautiful  day. 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  67 

"It 's  only  a  six-mile  drive,"  he  continued,  "and 
over  as  smooth  a  piece  of  pike,  I  think,  as  you  will 
find  in  the  West.  It  was  built  when  we  had  the 
4  good-roads  '  fever." 

It  was  in  truth  a  magnificent  drive,  the  roadway 
being  an  improvement  on  the  original  Macadam. 

They  fell  to  discussing  butterflies  in  a  desultory 
sort  of  a  way,  and  so  used  had  Gardwell  become 
to  the  part  he  was  playing  that  he  actually  began 
to  find  some  enjoyment  in  it. 

"This  is  the  only  bad  piece  in  the  road,"  said 
the  judge,  when  they  were  about  halfway  to  the 
lake.  Turning  a  sharp  corner,  they  began  to  de- 
scend a  rugged  hill  in  a  sharp  angle.  The  horse 
clattered  over  a  little  wooden  bridge  at  the  bottom, 
and  then  they  ascended  another  hill  and  made  an- 
other turn  which  was  an  exact  duplicate  of  the  one 
just  passed.  "It's  an  ugly  jag,"  continued  the 
judge,  "but  then,  it  helps  us  to  appreciate  the 
rest  of  the  road  all  the  more." 

It  was  just  a  trifle  after  sunrise  when  they 
reached  the  lake.  Rufus  tied  the  horse  to  a  tree 
and  threw  a  blanket  over  him,  for  the  air  was 
crisp,  and  in  a  very  short  space  of  time  he  had  a 
boat  ready,  while  the  judge  had  unwrapped  the 
tackle  and  fitted  out  two  rods. 

"A  spoon-hook,"  said  Gardwell,  glancing  at  the 
Number  4  Skinner.  "There  ain't  much  chance  for 
a  fish  to  get  that  out  of  his  mouth." 

The  judge  made  no  reply,  but  smiled  to  himself. 

Gardwell  took  a  place  in  the  bow,  by  the  judge's 


68  THE  FEDERAL   JUDGE 

directions,  while  the  latter  seated  himself  in  the 
stern,  with  Rufus  at  the  oars. 

"Is  there  any  particular  way  of  fishing  for  mus- 
callonge?"  asked  Gar  dwell. 

"Oh,  no,"  said  the  judge.  "Cast  just  the  same 
as  though  you  were  casting  for  bass." 

They  made  three  circles  of  the  little  lake  with- 
out the  sign  of  a  strike.  Gardwell,  who  had  been 
casting  industriously,  finally  remarked,  "This 
isn't  over-exciting." 

"You  'd  better  row  over  the  sand-bar  there, 
Rufus,"  suggested  the  judge.  "I  think  it  is  about 
time  for  them  to  be  there  now." 

Rufus  turned  the  boat  around,  and  as  he  pulled 
on  the  oars  he  exclaimed,  "  By  hokey !  I  would 
like  to  see  him  get  a  big  one  on." 

His  wish  was  gratified  sooner  than  he  expected. 
Rufus  pulled  over  towards  the  sand-bar  and  Gard- 
well made  a  cast.  The  spoon  struck  with  a  splash, 
and  then  started  on  its  return  trip  to  the  boat.  It 
was  hardly  ten  feet  away  when  the  water  broke 
with  a  force  that  sent  drops  of  spray  into  the  boat, 
a  pair  of  gleaming  jaws  snapped  just  over  the 
water-line,  and  then  the  spoon  disappeared  in  the 
centre  of  a  whirling  eddy.  The  reel  began  to 
sing.  The  pliant  steel  rod  bent  double,  the  eyes 
of  the  fisherman  snapped,  and  then  his  lips  curled 
in  scorn  as  the  fish  slacked  up  on  his  first  run. 

"Just  what  I  thought,"  he  said.  "One  or  two 
rushes,  and  then  it 's  all  over  with  one  of  those 
fellows.  They  're  just  like  pickerel." 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  69 

He  took  in  line,  and  the  muscallonge  came  in 
as  if  he  were  willing  to  give  himself  up  and  have 
the  hook  taken  out  of  his  mouth.  About  ten  feet 
from  the  boat  he  rose  to  the  surface,  and  turned 
half  over  on  his  side,  at  the  same  time  seeming  to 
cast  a  beseeching  glance  up  at  the  fisherman. 

"  This  is  easy,  judge, "  laughed  Gardwell.  "  ShaU 
I  tow  him  in  and  hand  him  to  you?" 

"Look  out,  or  you  '11  lose  him.  You  look  right 
smart,  too,"  shouted  Rufus  in  an  excited  tone. 

"Not  I,"  answered  Gardwell,  flipping  his  rod  a 
little  and  curling  his  lip. 

"Pride  goeth  before  a  fall,"  said  the  judge 
warningly. 

The  same  instant  the  fellow  changed  his  mind 
about  coming  into  the  boat.  There  was  a  light- 
ning change,  and  the  logy-looking  fish  shot  up 
into  the  air  higher  than  ever  jumped  a  bass,  and 
shook  his  head  in  a  way  that  made  the  spoon  rattle 
against  his  teeth  like  the  sound  of  castanets. 
When  he  struck  the  water,  he  gave  a  double  twist 
and  a  jerk  that  sunk  the  butt  of  the  rod  into  the 
fisherman's  stomach  until  his  eyes  bulged  out, 
while  the  rod  bent  double  and  the  line  was  as  tight 
as  a  fiddle-string.  Then  he  was  off  with  a  run 
that  made  the  reel  smoke. 

"Great  Caesar  !  "  gasped  the  man,  who  held  the 
destinies  of  great  corporations  in  the  hollow  of  his 
hand,  but  in  whose  hand  now  was  nothing  but  an 
eight-ounce  rod.  "  That  is  n't  a  fish ;  it 's  a  horse !  " 

The  judge  chuckled,  and  Rufus,  bending  to  his 


70  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

oars,  shouted:  "Don't  you  let  him  get  away,  Mr. 
Gar  dwell !  Don't  let  him  get  away  !  Don't  let 
him  go  !  " 

"Let  him  go?"  shouted  Gardwell.  "Let  him 
go?  I  haven't  got  him;  he  's  got  me." 

"It's  only  about  a  twelve-pounder."  remarked 
the  judge  very  coolly.  "Rufus,  you  had  better 
bend  to  the  oars  a  little  stronger.  We  shall  have 
to  drown  him." 

For  twenty-five  minutes  it  was  nip  and  tuck. 
Half  a  dozen  times  it  looked  as  if  the  fish  must  be 
done  for,  but  the  judge  would  smile  and  say  "not 
yet,"  and  the  gallant  lord  of  the  lake  would  rally 
too,  and  make  another  magnificent  burst  for  lib- 
erty. 

"My  arm  is  almost  gone,"  groaned  Gardwell,  at 
the  end  of  half  an  hour's  fighting,  during  which 
he  had  handled  his  frail  line  with  consummate 
skill  and  address.  "But  isn't  he  a  magnificent 
fellow  !  He  's  been  fighting  on  pure  nerve  for  fif- 
teen minutes.  He  must  have  a  bucket  of  water  in 
him  now.  Lord  !  there  he  goes  again." 

Worn  out  and  overpowered,  but  not  conquered, 
the  fish  was  finally  hauled  up  to  the  side  of  the 
boat,  and  Rufus  dealt  him  a  blow  on  the  head  with 
the  gaff -hook. 

"  I  take  off  my  hat  to  the  muscallonge,  and 
apologize  to  you,  judge,"  Gardwell  said,  as  he  sat 
in  the  bow  of  the  boat  all  in  a  tremor.  "I  won't 
take  my  hat  off  just  yet,  either,"  he  added,  "for 
my  arm  is  so  weak  that  I  don't  believe  I  could 


THE   FEDERAL    JUDGE  71 

raise  it  as  high  as  my  head.  The  bass  is  game  to 
the  core,  I  still  insist,  but  he  can't  put  up  such  a 
fight  as  one  of  these  fellows  can.  Judge,"  he  con- 
tinued, wiping  the  perspiration  from  his  brow,  "I 
owe  you  another  butterfly,  and  I  '11  get  it  for  you, 
too.  No  matter  what  it  is,  just  name  it,  and  you 
shall  have  it,  even  if  it  is  a  six-inch  Morpho 
menelaus." 

"Oh,  that  was  nothing,"  said  the  judge  calmly. 
"He  didn't  make  very  much  fuss.  If  you  had 
hooked  him  in  November  after  the  first  ice  had 
been  formed,  you  would  n't  have  got  him  up  to  the 
boat  in  an  hour." 

"Well,"  Gard well  remarked  dryly,  "I'm  glad 
I  got  him  in  September." 

Gardwell  was  like  a  boy  now,  and  nothing  would 
do  but  Rufus  should  row  and  row  and  row,  while 
he  continued  to  cast  as  though  his  wrist  was  iron. 
But  it  was  after  nine  o'clock,  and  the  muscallonge 
had  had  their  breakfast. 

Rufus  brought  out  a  basket  from  under  the 
front  seat  of  the  buckboard,  when  they  had  pulled 
up  to  the  shore,  and  soon  had  the  lunch  spread  on 
a  fallen  log. 

"I  can't  eat  anything  now,"  said  Gardwell. 
"It 's  only  half  an  hour  since  I  had  breakfast." 

"It 's  five  hours  ago,"  replied  the  judge,  "and  I 
guess  you  will  be  able  to  eat  a  little  something  out 
in  this  fresh  air." 

Gardwell  found  that  the  judge  was  right.  He 
ate  two  big  sandwiches  and  washed  them  down 


72  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

with  a  cupful  of  currant  wine,  which  tasted  better 
to  him  than  any  he  had  ever  drunk  at  the  club, 
even  from  the  vineyards  of  France,  although  Gard- 
well  was  not  much  of  a  wine-drinker. 

"We  will  drive  over  to  Perch  Lake  now,"  said 
the  judge.  "It  is  only  three  miles  from  here,  and 
there  I  will  give  you  some  bass  fishing.  They 
call  it  Perch  Lake,  because  they  catch  nothing  but 
bass  there." 

"Could n't  we  catch  another  muscallonge  if  we 
stayed  here,  judge?"  asked  Gardwell,  like  a  boy. 

"There  has  never  been  a  muscallonge  hooked  in 
this  lake  after  eight  o'clock,  to  my  certain  know- 
ledge," said  Rufus,  "for  the  last  twenty-two  years. 
You  might  get  another  one  along  towards  sun- 
down, but  't ain't  likely;  it 's  kind  o' early  for  'em 
yet." 

"I  'd  stay  here  if  I  thought  there  was  any 
chance,"  said  the  judge,  "but  I  thought  it  was 
bass  you  liked  to  catch,  Mr.  Gardwell," 

"Enough  !  Enough  !  "  cried  Gardwell,  throw- 
ing up  both  hands.  "I  like  bass  fishing,  but  I  '11 
confess  that  I  like  muscallonge,  too." 


CHAPTER  VII 

IT  was  after  one  o'clock  when  they  returned, 
and  Mrs.  Dunn  and  Harriet  had  not  yet  arrived. 
Gardwell  lighted  a  cigar  and  seated  himself  by  the 
judge's  side  on  the  moss-covered  trunk  of  a  fallen 
tree. 

"I  wish,"  began  Gardwell,  "that  I  had  a  place 
out  on  one  of  these  lakes,  and  to  tell  the  truth  I 
wish  that  I  lived  in  a  town  like  Bowerville.  The 
wear  and  tear  on  a  man  in  the  fights  of  city  life, 
especially  a  man  in  my  position,  is  something  tre- 
mendous. Why,  I  have  gone  five  days  and  nights 
on  a  stretch  without  a  wink  of  sleep." 

"And  I,"  said  the  judge,  "I  never  missed  a 
night's  sleep  in  my  life,  excepting  when  I  was  in 
the  army.  But  why  don't  you  do  it,  if  you  want 
to?  Close  up  your  affairs,  come  out  here  and  live 
—  and  you  and  I  will  chase  butterflies  together," 
he  finished,  with  a  laugh. 

"And  muscallonge,"  added  Gardwell,  joining 
him.  Then,  in  more  serious  tone:  "Ah !  it  is 
easy  enough  to  ask,  Why  don't  you?  but  you  don't 
know.  When  you  were  in  the  army,"  he  said, 
with  a  salute,  "and  the  zest  of  the  battle  was  on 
you  —  you  didn't  think  of  home  then.  It  was 
only  at  times  when  resting  between  dreary  marches 


74  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

or  sitting  by  the  camp-fire  that  you  longed  for  the 
war  to  close.  It  is  so  with  me.  I  am  in  the 
midst  of  the  fight,  and  in  the  midst  of  the  fight  I 
must  stay.  Great  armies,  with  great  generals  at 
their  head,  are  now  fighting  each  other;  not  with 
powder  and  ball  and  bayonets  and  sabre,  but  with 
the  most  deadly  of  all  weapons  on  either  side  — 
money.  Great  coups  are  executed,  daring  moves 
are  made,  some  points  are  carried  by  assault  and 
some  by  strategy.  Even  now,  I  am  like  a  general 
who  has  left  his  army,  his  small  army,  —  such  is 
the  one  that  I  command,"  —he  added  modestly, 
"and,  for  all  I  know,  an  important  engagement 
may  now  be  taking  place,  and  here  I  am  several 
times  '  twenty  miles  away, '  with  no  horse  to  carry 
me  on  to  Winchester.  Why,  I  don't  even  know 
what  the  St.  Clair  syndicate  has  done  during  the 
last  three  days.  We  are  on  the  eve  of  a  great 
battle  with  millions  of  dollars  on  either  side.  But 
I  do  not  expect  the  engagement  to  take  place  for 
at  least  a  year,  and  it  will  not  if  I  can  help  it." 

"And  to  think,"  murmured  the  judge,  "that  you 
love  butterflies." 

"Yes,"  continued  Gardwell,  again  becoming  ac- 
tive, "but  just  at  present  I  am  a  butterfly,  and 
certain  gentlemen  in  the  East  wish  to  stick  a  pin 
through  me  and  put  me  in  their  cabinet.  But  if 
I  elude  them,  and  I  will,  I  '11  follow  the  bent  of 
my  inclination  for  the  rest  of  my  days." 

"I  hope  you  will  be  successful,"  said  the  judge. 
"And  to  speak  frankly,  Mr.  Gardwell,  I  have  not 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  75 

met  a  man  in  many  a  day  that  I  have  taken  such 
a  liking  to  as  to  you.  I  say  this  frankly,  as  a 
fellow  worshiper  of  the  family  Lepidoptera,  and  I 
wish  there  were  more  like  you." 

The  two  men  were  shaking  hands  on  this  senti- 
ment when  Harriet  and  her  mother  came  driving 
through  the  woods.  They  were  in  the  family 
buggy,  and  Harriet  held  the  reins  over  a  mettle- 
some young  horse.  Her  face  was  all  aglow,  while 
her  mother's  was  pale  from  fright. 

"I  don't  know  what 's  the  matter  with  Papilio, 
papa,"  cried  Harriet.  "He  pulled  terribly  all  the 
way.  I  gave  him  the  whip  on  the  straight  road, 
but  oh,  he  did  pull  dreadfully,  and  I  know  my 
hands  are  just  blistered." 

"He  's  as  gentle  and  playful  as  a  kitten,"  said 
the  judge  to  Gardwell,  for  the  horse  was  covered 
with  foam.  "He's  young,  you  know,  and  feels 
his  oats,  but  he  '11  stop  at  my  word  in  an  instant. 
You  shouldn't  have  lashed  him,  Harriet." 

"Well,  perhaps  I  did  lose  my  temper,  papa,  but 
he  did  act  dreadfully." 

"It's  too  bad  that  a  horse  can't  talk,"  said 
Gardwell.  "  Oftentimes  some  little  ailment  which 
could  be  readily  cured,  if  one  only  knew  what  it 
was,  will  make  the  best  tempered  animal  an  ugly 
and  vicious  brute.  He  may  have  a  bad  tooth." 

"Possibly,"  replied  the  judge.  "I  '11  have  that 
looked  after  on  Monday." 

It  was  a  pleasant  little  picnic  party  that  sat 
down  to  luncheon  there  in  the  woods  that  after- 


76  THE  FEDERAL   JUDGE 

noon,  and  Gardwell  thought  that  he  had  never  be- 
fore had  a  more  enjoyable  time,  and  he  also  vowed, 
mentally,  of  course,  that  seldom  had  he  seen  so 
handsome  a  girl  as  Harriet  Dunn  —  that  is,  in 
recent  years.  After  luncheon  Harriet  expressed 
a  desire  to  try  her  hand  at  fishing. 

"Let  me  row  the  boat  for  you,"  volunteered 
Gardwell.  "I  used  to  be  very  good  at  that." 

So  they  went  down  to  the  boat  together,  Har- 
riet with  her  father's  rod;  and  as  Rufus  pushed 
them  out,  Harriet  said,  "  Who  knows  but  you  may 
prove  a  mascot,  Mr.  Gardwell,  and  I  may  catch 
a  muscallonge  ?  " 

"  I  hope  so, "  Gardwell  replied.  "  Nothing  would 
give  me  greater  pleasure,  and  if  you  enjoy  it  as 
much  as  I  did  to-day  you  will  never  forget  it." 

Like  most  young  women  who  wield  the  rod, 
Harriet  played  an  accompaniment  of  a  talk  to  her 
fishing,  and  later  on  sang  a  little  ditty  to  the 
fishes,  the  refrain  of  which  ran  thus :  — 

Come,  fishes,  from  the  deep  lagoon, 
For  you  I  cast  my  shining  spoon. 

Come,  great  and  small, 
My  hook  is  baited  with  the  wish 
That  I  may  catch  the  largest  fish 

Among  you  all. 

Hemlock  Lake  lies  in  a  depression,  with  high 
banks  around  its  shores,  and  on  the  bank  near  the 
roadway,  behind  a  tree,  there  happened  to  be  a 
young  man  standing  as  Gardwell  rowed  along  the 
shore  with  his  pretty  companion. 

"Your   hook  is  keen,   and  it  has  an   alluring 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  77 

bait,"  said  Gardwell  significantly,  as  she  finished 
the  song. 

"Do  you  think  so?"  asked  Harriet  archly. 
"  But  I  have  n't  begun  to  fish  yet.  The  fish  around 
here  are  neither  big  enough  nor  brave  enough  for 
me,"  and  laughingly  she  sang  the  refrain  again. 

Light  words  and  meaning  little,  but  they  pierced 
the  heart  of  the  man  standing  under  the  big  oak 
on  the  bank.  For  a  moment  his  eyes  flashed  an- 
grily down  at  Gardwell,  and  then  he  turned  and 
threw  himself  on  the  ground,  face  downwards,  with 
his  face  upon  his  folded  arms.  It  seemed  less 
than  ten  minutes'  time  to  him,  but  when  he  got 
up  and  looked  at  the  sun,  Kobert  Emmersley  knew 
that  an  hour  had  passed.  The  boat  was  no  longer 
on  the  lake.  He  walked  back  to  the  fence,  lifted 
his  bicycle  over  it,  and  stood  looking  down  with 
his  hands  on  the  handle-bars. 

"So  !  she  is  n't  fishing  yet,"  he  murmured,  "and 
I  am  too  small  fry  for  her." 

He  drew  a  deep  sigh  and  rested  his  elbow  on  the 
saddle.  The  bitter  thought  whence  the  sigh  had 
sprung  was  quickly  merged  in  a  dream  of  days 
and  things  yet  to  be.  In  that  brief  glimpse  into 
the  future,  he  saw  himself  crowned  with  political 
honors,  and  he  felt  the  thrill  of  power  —  an  airy 
nothing,  as  yet,  built  of  hope  and  determination, 
but  on  such  foundation  Robert  Emmersley  had  once 
before,  nay  often,  framed  great  resolves.  In  hap- 
pier mood  now,  he  mounted  his  bicycle  and  slowly 
wheeled  down  the  pike.  He  was  lost  in  reverie, 


78  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

and  rode  along  mechanically,  as  a  man  walks,  with 
no  conscious  concern  about  his  equilibrium. 

He  had  not  ridden  far  when  he  became  dimly 
aware  that  a  horse  was  approaching  him  from  be- 
hind. He  veered  a  little  towards  the  edge  of  the 
pike  and  was  wheeling  along,  resolved  not  to  look 
up,  for  he  half  guessed  who  the  people  might  be, 
when  he  awoke  with  a  start  to  the  sense  that  the 
horse  behind  him  was  running,  and  that  it  was 
almost  upon  him.  He  had  barely  time  to  glance 
back  and  swing  out  a  little  further  when  the  horse 
dashed  by  —  a  runaway.  One  glance  told  him 
that  it  was  Judge  Dunn's  buggy  with  the  colt  at- 
tached. He  knew  that  Gardwell  and  the  judge 
had  driven  out  on  the  buckboard,  and  that  Harriet 
and  her  mother  had  followed  in  the  buggy,  and  he 
had  not  a  doubt  now  that  they  were  in  the  buggy 
behind  that  frenzied  animal.  His  mind  was  made 
up  in  an  instant,  and  his  weight  went  on  to  the 
pedals.  The  road  was  wide  and  clear,  and  Em- 
mersley  knew  his  powers  on  a  bicycle,  which  had 
been  tested  at  more  than  one  racing  meet  in  the 
State.  He  had  raced  before,  but  never  as  he  raced 
now.  He  was  cool,  although  every  muscle  in  his 
body  was  strained  to  its  utmost  tension,  as  he  went 
flying  along.  His  mind  was  made  up,  and  he  was 
entered  in  the  race  to  win  or  die.  The  runaway 
had  barely  a  hundred  yards  the  start  of  him,  but 
a  running  horse  eats  up  the  ground  very  swiftly. 
Two  miles  and  a  half  ahead  of  them  was  the  ravine 
with  its  sharp  point;  and  if  he  could  not  stop  the 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  79 

horse  before  they  reached  that,  he  knew  that  the 
occupants  of  the  buggy  would  be  hurled  to  death. 
Slowly  but  surely  he  began  to  close  up  the  gap. 
He  was  thinking  as  he  rode ;  and  as  he  put  every 
ounce  in  him  upon  the  pedals,  and  his  brawny 
arms  tugged  at  the  handle-bars  like  a  giant  strain- 
ing to  uproot  an  oak,  he  was  thinking  of  an  aged 
mother  and  of  a  sister;  and  as  he  thought,  the  gap 
between  him  and  the  flying,  rocking  buggy  grew 
less  and  less.  A  mile  had  been  covered,  and  he 
was  within  fifty  feet  of  the  runaway.  He  noticed 
how  queerly  the  dust  and  little  particles  of  gravel 
sounded  as  they  crunched  under  his  wheel,  and  he 
wondered  to  himself  what  would  happen  if  one  of 
the  tires  should  be  punctured.  The  strain  was 
beginning  to  tell  on  him,  but  he  noted  with  the 
eyes  of  an  experienced  racer  that  the  horse  had 
begun  to  slacken  its  speed  a  trifle.  Three  quar- 
ters of  a  mile  more,  and  he  had  drawn  up  until 
his  front  wheel  had  lapped  the  rear  wheel  of  the 
buggy.  Slowly,  slowly,  inch  by  inch,  he  crept  up, 
until  he  was  almost  abreast  with  the  flying  animal. 
He  rode  thus  for  fifty  yards,  and  steadied  himself 
for  the  stroke.  Then  up  went  the  "hump"  —the 
bicycle  hump,  that  some  may  laugh  at  —  and  with 
it  the  responsive  spurt  that  had  won  many  a  race. 
Like  a  shaft  from  a  cross-bow,  the  wheel  shot  in 
towards  the  right  and  carried  its  rider  just  in  front 
of  the  galloping  horse's  throat,  and  in  an  instant 
his  right  arm  swung  up,  and  his  sinewy  hand 
grasped  the  bridle  close  to  the  bit.  There  was  a 


80  THE   FEDERAL    JUDGE 

crash  of  splintered  wood  and  a  twang  of  breaking 
wire,  but  hanging  to  the  horse's  head  with  a  grip 
of  steel  was  Robert  Emmersley. 

The  struggle  was  a  short  one,  and  when  it  was 
over  Emmersley  stood  in  the  middle  of  the  road 
with  the  cowered  and  trembling  animal  before 
him.  In  the  buggy,  with  a  piece  of  broken  rein 
in  one  of  his  hands,  sat  Elliot  Gardwell,  cold  as 
ice.  Emmersley  drew  back  the  horse's  head  and 
looked,  and  their  eyes  met.  He  tried  to  say,  "Is 
she  safe?"  but  no  voice  came  from  his  trembling 
lips ;  and  Gardwell,  jumping  out  of  the  buggy,  ran 
to  his  side,  and  threw  an  arm  about  him. 

"Are  you  hurt?"  he  cried. 

Emmersley  shook  his  head  and  put  his  hand  up 
to  his  face.  The  blood  was  streaming  from  an 
ugly  cut  in  the  cheek. 

"Tie  the  horse,"  said  Emmersley,  pushing  Gard- 
well aside  and  walking  over  to  a  boulder  by  the 
roadside. 

Gardwell  hastily  hitched  the  trembling  animal 
to  the  fence,  and  went  over  to  Emmersley. 

"You  are  badly  hurt,"  he  cried;  "where  can  I 
reach  a  surgeon  ?  " 

"Don't  be  alarmed,"  said  Emmersley,  holding 
a  blood-soaked  handkerchief  to  his  face.  "  I  am 
not  hurt  at  all.  I  had  a  worse  shaking  up  than 
this  once  before  this  summer." 

He  began  brushing  the  dust  from  his  clothes, 
and  glanced  ruefully  at  the  wreck  of  his  bicycle 
lying  back  in  the  road. 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  81 

Gardwell  caught  the  glance.  "While  risking 
your  life  for  me,  Mr.  Emmersley,  you  have  also 
sustained  a  financial  loss.  I  insist  on  making  it 
good.  What  gear  do  you  ride?" 

Emmersley  stood  hesitating  a  moment,  and  then 
replied:  "I  will  accept  your  offer  on  one  condi- 
tion. I  hope  I  am  not  presuming  to  ask  a  favor." 

Gardwell  bit  his  lip.  Here  was  a  man  to  whom 
he  was  under  the  deepest  obligations,  and  who 
seemed  inclined  to  make  the  most  of  it.  Gardwell 
disliked  being  under  obligations  to  any  one.  It  was 
a  part  of  his  system  to  place  other  people  under 
obligations  to  him,  and  to  avoid  being  the  recipient 
of  favors  of  any  kind. 

"It  is  your  right  to  ask  anything,"  he  replied. 
"I  will  grant  it  if  it  lies  in  my  power." 

"Very  well,"  said  Emmersley.  "It  is  simply 
this :  you  will  say  nothing  about  the  runaway  and 
what  you  may  choose  to  call  your  rescue,  and  let 
it  appear  that  I  accidentally  ran  into  the  horse  and 
caused  the  accident." 

"I  will  do  nothing  of  the  kind,"  cried  Gardwell 
more  impetuously  than  he  had  spoken  for  many 
years.  "When  the  facts  leak  out,  I  shall  be 
placed  in  a  despicable  position.  I  have  many 
things  to  answer  for,  but  not  for  having  ever  acted 
like  a  cur." 

"It  will  never  leak  out  from  me,"  Emmersley 
said  firmly;  "and  you  are  the  only  other  one  who 
knows  it.  I  insist  that  I  have  the  right  to  ask  it. 
My  reasons,  and  what  my  thoughts  are,  are  my 


82  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

own.  .  You  need  do  nothing  but  corroborate  what 
I  say  about  the  matter.  Do  you  grant  the  fa- 
vor? It  is  the  only  one  I  shallvask,  I  pledge  you 
that." 

Gardwell  looked  at  the  blood-stained  face  and 
dust-grimed  figure  of  his  rescuer. 

"I  grant  it,"  was  his  reply,  "but  under  protest." 

Emmersley  had  a  book  of  court-plaster  in  an 
inner  pocket  of  his  riding- jacket,  and  he  allowed 
Gardwell  to  dress  the  cut  on  his  face. 

"I'm  all  right  now,"  he  said,  drawing  himself 
up  to  his  full  height  and  stamping  his  feet  on  the 
hard  road-bed.  "  I  '11  lace  that  broken  line  together, 
and  we  '11  get  on  the  way  again.  There  was  a 
repair  outfit  on  my  wheel,  and  that  must  be  all 
right." 

He  ran  hobbling  back,  and  found  the  leathern 
case,  and  was  soon  swiftly  splicing  the  broken 
rein,  which  had  parted  close  to  the  bit. 

Gardwell  explained,  as  he  worked,  how  it  had 
happened  that  he  was  driving  in  alone.  A  nut 
had  come  off  from  one  of  the  wheels  of  the  buck- 
board,  and  as  he  wished  to  catch  the  train  for 
Malton,  and  had  barely  enough  time  to  make  it, 
the  judge  had  insisted  on  his  taking  the  buggy. 

"  If  Miss  Dunn  had  not  gone  with  Eufus  to  look 
for  the  missing  'nut,  she  probably  would  have  been 
in  the  buggy  with  me,  as  the  judge  had  suggested 
that  she  accompany  me  so  as  to  drive  the  horse 
back." 

Emmersley  made  no  reply,  but  wondered  whether 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  83 

he  was  glad  or  sorry  that  she  was  not  in  the  run- 
away. 

"I  hope  we  can  get  away  before  they  overtake 
us,"  Emmersley  remarked.  "It  would  save  an- 
swering a  good  many  questions." 

But  in  this  he  was  disappointed.  The  buck- 
board  could  be  seen  approaching  as  he  spoke,  and 
was  soon  up  with  them.  Ruf  us  'pulled  up  when 
he  reached  the  wrecked  bicycle,  and  the  judge, 
jumping  out,  ran  forward. 

"Hello  !  "  he  cried.  "What 's  this?  Are  you 
hurt,  Mr.  Gardwell?  " 

"Not  in  the  least,"  replied  Gardwell.  "Our 
friend  here  is  bruised  some,  but  nothing  serious." 

"  Bob  Emmersley  !  "  exclaimed  the  judge ;  "why, 
I  did  n't  recognize  you  at  first.  What  is  all  this, 
anyway?  " 

"Well,  judge,  to  tell  you  the  truth,  I  broke  a 
pedal  again.  I  guess  I  'm  too  strong  to  ride  a 
wheel." 

"Yes,  and  too  reckless,  sir,"  roared  the  judge. 
"Racing  again,  I  suppose.  Is  the  colt  hurt?" 

"Not  a  scratch,"  replied  Emmersley  cheerfully, 
"but  my  wheel  is  bent  a  trifle,  I  guess." 

The  judge  glanced  back  at  the  tangle  of  wire 
spokes,  wooden  rims,  and  twisted  steel  tubing  in 
the  roadway  and  grunted  approvingly. 

"It  was  not  Mr.  Emmersley 's  fault,"  began 
Gardwell. 

"I  understand  all  that,  Mr.  Gardwell,"  inter- 
rupted the  judge  gruffly.  "I  never  knew  a  case 


84  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

yet  where  it  was  the  bicycle  rider's  fault.  They 
are  always  being  run  down  by  ox-teams  and  loaded 
farm  wagons !  I  would  advise  you  to  stick  to 
walking  after  this,"  he  continued,  turning  to  Em- 
mersley .  "  If  that  colt  is  ruined  for  family  driving, 
I  shall  hold  you  responsible.  I  am  not  much  of 
a  believer  in  accidents  of  this  sort  with  no  one  to 
blame." 

"We  are  ready  to  start  now,"  said  Emmersley 
to  Gardwell  quietly.  He  walked  back,  and,  pick- 
ing up  the  pieces  of  his  wheel,  carried  them  to  the 
edge  of  the  roadway,  and  tossed  them  over  a 
hedge.  He  bowed  and  took  off  his  cap  to  Harriet 
and  her  mother,  but  he  did  not  speak  to  them. 
Harriet's  face  was  white,  and  she  seemed  about  to 
jump  out  of  the  buckboard  and  run  to  him.  But 
he  turned  quickly  and  walked  back  to  the  buggy. 

Gardwell  and  Emmersley  drove  away,  and  as 
they  started  the  judge  shouted,  "Good-by,  Mr. 
Gardwell,  let  us  see  you  at  Bowerville  again,  be- 
fore long." 

When  the  judge  had  resumed  his  seat  in  the 
buckboard,  Harriet  could  no  longer  conceal  her 
solicitude  for  Emmersley. 

"Oh,  papa,"  she  cried,  "is  Mr.  Emmersley  badly 
hurt?  His  face  was  covered  with  blood." 

"Hurt!"  grunted  the  judge.  "Hurt!  you 
could  n't  hurt  him  if  you  ran  him  through  a  thresh- 
ing-machine. It 's  the  colt  I  am  worrying  about. 
I  'm  afraid  you  can  never  drive  him  again."  But 
the  fate  of  the  colt  was  of  little  concern  to  Harriet 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  85 

with  the  vision  of  Emmersley's  bleeding  face  in 
her  mind. 

"Poor  fellow,"  she  sighed,  "he  always  was  so 
clumsy." 

At  the  depot,  which  the  two  men  reached  just 
in  time  for  Gar  dwell  to  catch  his  train,  there  were 
few  words  exchanged.  Each  instinctively  disliked 
the  other,  and  Gardwell  knew  that  he  was  at  a 
great  disadvantage.  Still,  he  felt  that  he  must 
say  something,  and  he  again  expressed  his  grati- 
tude. 

"Oh,  that's  all  right,"  Emmersley  replied 
lightly.  "  The  judge  has  been  very  kind  to  me, 
and  I  knew  how  much  he  valued  that  colt.  I 
would  do  as  much  for  him  again  any  time." 

"There  's  something  under  the  seat,"  said  Gard- 
well, "that  I  never  took  my  mind  off  of  while  the 
horse  was  running.  I  was  terribly  worried  lest  I 
should  lose  it.  Will  you  kindly  hand  it  out  to 
me?" 

Emmersley  fumbled  under  the  seat,  and  brought 
out  the  twelve-pound  muscallonge,  nicely  wrapped 
in  grass. 

"Thanks,"  said  Gardwell;  "it 's  the  first  one  I 
ever  caught.  Good-by.  We  shall  meet  again." 

"Good-by,"  said  Emmersley,  beginning  to  turn 
the  horse  around.  Neither  looked  back,  and  it 
was  many  months  before  these  two  met  again. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THE  events  in  this  history  thus  far  have  not 
been  of  a  nature  calculated  to  impress  the  reader 
with  the  idea  that  something  dreadful  was  just 
about  to  occur;  and  neither  has  there  been  any 
suggestion  of  that  element  of  mystery  which  adds 
so  materially  to  the  charm  of  many  modern  works 
of  fiction.  These  defects  are  greatly  regretted, 
and  yet  they  afford  a  striking  illustration  of  how 
much  lighter  a  task  it  is  to  write  a  book  wherein 
the  author  has  only  to  wish  for  a  character  to 
extricate  him  from  some  labyrinth  of  plot,  and 
straightway  one  appears,  and,  bowing  submis- 
sion, says,  like  the  genie  in  the  Arabian  Nights, 
"Master,  I  await  your  commands.  All  things  are 
possible  with  me."  The  villain  in  the  play  uses 
dagger  or  pistol  with  an  initial  success  which  one 
in  real  life,  because  of  the  density  of  population 
and  the  great  proneness  of  people  to  be  about  with 
eyes  and  ears  open  just  when  they  are  not  wanted, 
could  not  hope  to  achieve.  Even  in  books  quick 
action  is  demanded,  and  there  must  be  a  close  con- 
nection between  cause  and  effect.  Lovers  are  no 
longer  allowed  to  become  estranged  by  the  slow 
process  which  most  of  us  can  look  back  to  in  our 
own  experience,  and  which  was  the  reason  why  we 


THE    FEDERAL    JUDGE  87 

did  not  marry  May,  or  Jack,  whom  we  thought  so 
much  of  when  we  were  younger  than  our  oldest 
boy  is  now. 

And  thus,  having  appeared  before  the  audience 
and  made  our  little  speech,  —  poor  as  it  is,  for  we 
suffer  much  from  stage  fright,  —  it  is  announced, 
with  regret,  that  there  will  be  an  intermission, 
during  which  the  people  of  the  audience  may  move 
about  a  bit,  or  even  go  out^  if  they  choose,  —  no 
return  checks  will  be  given  at  the  door.  To  take 
one  more  liberty,  we  lift  an  old  familiar  line  from 
the  playbills,  "A  year  is  supposed  to  elapse." 

It  was  a  year  in  which  Gardwell  began  the  great 
fight  of  his  life,  and  it  was  an  unhappy  year  for 
Robert  Emmersley,  torn  as  he  was  by  contending 
emotions,  and  chafing  under  what  he  grew  to  con- 
sider the  cruelty  of  those  whom  he  most  loved  and 
respected.  To  tell  the  truth,  it  was  the  young 
man's  fault.  He  magnified  his  wrongs,  which 
were  the  result  of  his  own  pride  and  foolishness ; 
and  having  allowed  the  time  to  pass  when,  by 
advancing  halfway,  he  could  have  regained  the 
friendship  of  Judge  Dunn  and  the  regard  of  Har- 
riet, —  which  had  ripened  almost  into  love,  —  the 
barrier  between  him  ancl  the  family  grew,  like  a 
hedge,  thicker  and  more  bristling  with  thorns. 

The  worst  fears  of  the  judge  as  to  the  colt  had 
been  realized.  He  was  a  stubborn  and  determined 
man,  and  had  not  made  matters  any  better  by  the 
system  to  which  he  had  subjected  the  animal.  It 
happened  one  morning,  just  at  the  period  when  the 


88  THE   FEDERAL  JUDGE 

judge  was  struggling  to  overcome  the  spirit  of  the 
runaway,  that  he  and  Emmersley  met.  It  might 
have  been  different  had  Emmersley  chosen  to  act 
otherwise  than  he  did.  But  he  put  on  an  air  of 
great  formality,  greeted  the  judge  in  a  coldly  dis- 
tant manner,  and  in  every  way  behaved  like  the 
distracted  young  man  that  he  was.  It  set  the  iron 
in  the  old  judge,  who  had  half  made  up  his  mind 
to  forgive  Emmersley,  after  subjecting  him  to  a 
fatherly  talk,  and  he  vowed  to  have  nothing  fur- 
ther to  do  with  the  young  upstart,  as  he  termed 
him,  and  in  whom  he  had  been  grievously  disap- 
pointed. But  what  caused  the  most  bitterness  to 
Emmersley  was  the  fact,  as  he  supposed,  that  Har- 
riet had  looked  upon  him  as  a  country  dolt  for  hav- 
ing caused  the  accident.  "Accident,"  he  thought. 
"Ah,  if  she  only  knew  how  he  had  risked  his  life 
to  save  hers!  "  But  she  should  never  know  it  from 
him,  and  he  was  confident  that  Gardwell  would 
keep  his  word. 

He  had  strange  ideas  of  his  own,  had  this  young 
lawyer  of  Bowerville,  and  one  of  them  was  to  hold 
in  profound  contempt  the  lover  who  won  his  mis- 
tress by  a  display  of  physical  prowess.  He  wanted 
a  woman  to  love  him  for  himself,  and  not  for 
something  that  he  might  do  in  a  moment  of  excite- 
ment. 

At  occasional  intervals  Rufus  took  a  drop  too 
much  at  the  public  house,  and  it  was  on  one  of 
these  occasions  that  he  repeated  to  Emmersley  a 
remark  that  Harriet  had  made  when  her  father 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  OV 

explained  the  accident.  On  this  occasion,  also, 
Rufus  had  given  Emmersley  a  bit  of  his  mind. 

"I  tell  you,  Bob  Emmersley,"  he  said,  "if  you 
think  you  can  make  the  old  judge  come  around  to 
your  halter,  you  are  mightily  mistaken.  He  ain't 
that  kind  of  a  man.  And  the  best  thing  you  can 
do  is  to  just  chase  right  after  him,  and  tell  him 
you  are  sorry  you  spoilt  that  'ar  colt.  Besides, 
you  didn't  tell  the  truth,"  he  added,  shaking  his 
head. 

"What's  that  ?"  exclaimed  Emmersley,  some- 
what startled. 

"I  mean  what  I  say,"  continued  Kufus.  "I  got 
that  bicycle  back  to  town  for  you,  and  know  what 
I  am  talking  about.  There  was  n't  either  paddle 
on  it  broke,  an'  you  know  it." 

Emmersley  passed  a  lonesome  winter  in  Bower- 
ville ;  but  in  the  following  spring,  it  being  presi- 
dential year,  he  plunged  into  the  thick  of  the  po- 
litical fight.  He  had  heretofore  been  a  member 
of  one  of  the  old  political  parties,  holding  views 
that  were  a  trifle  advanced,  and  which  had  made 
some  of  his  older  associates  view  him  askant,  but 
nevertheless  as  a  good  party  man.  The  Populist 
movement  had  just  begun  to  make  itself  felt,  and 
to  this  party  tEmmersley  now  turned.  He  was  in 
a  mood  peculiarly  fitted  to  make  him  a  leader  in 
the  new  movement,  for  he  was  dissatisfied  with  all 
existing  conditions.  He  was  a  good  speaker,  pos- 
sessed of  great  personal  magnetism,  and  as  he  grew 
more  and  more  radical  in  his  views  his  following 


90  THE  FEDERAL   JUDGE 

became  stronger  and  stronger.  His  new  attitude 
alienated  him  still  farther  from  the  judge,  who 
even  went  so  far  as  to  write  a  communication  to 
the  "Bowerville  Gazette  "  which  was  aimed  at  Em- 
mersley,  and  to  which  that  young  man  replied  in 
a  caustic  manner,  winding  up  with  the  declaration 
that  certain  prominent  men  in  the  community  did 
not  practice  in  public  what  they  preached  in  pri- 
vate, and  that  the  sins  of  corporations  were  no  sins 
when  they  had  been  stamped  with  the  approval  of 
a  powerful  political  party. 

Harriet  was  away  all  winter  in  a  Vermont  board- 
ing-school for  young  ladies,  and  did  not  even 
return  for  the  holidays.  She  came  back  in  the 
latter  part  of  June,  a  great  deal  more  of  a  young 
lady  and  less  of  the  country  girl  she  had  been 
when  she  went  away.  She  met  Emmersley  shortly 
after  her  return,  and  greeted  him  with  a  dignified 
bow,  but  it  was  under  circumstances  which  afforded 
no  chance  of  their  speaking  to  each  other,  even 
if  either  had  so  desired.  She  looked  so  beauti- 
ful that  Emmersley  was  thrown  into  a  passion  of 
frenzy  and  rage  against  Gardwell,  at  whose  door 
he  laid  all  his  troubles.  He  gave  vent  to  his  rage 
that  night  by  making  an  address  and  denouncing 
corporations,  and  the  money  power  In  general,  in 
such  scathing  words  that  his  audience  of  farmers 
was  worked  up  to  a  high  pitch  of  feeling.  Em- 
mersley had  accepted  the  Populist  nomination  for 
Congress,  not  with  any  hope  of  being  elected,  but 
because  he  wished  to  be  consistent.  Heart  and 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  91 

soul  he  was  soon  in  the  midst  of  the  campaign, 
and  worked  day  and  night,  principally  for  the 
reason  that  it  helped  to  divert  his  mind. 

When  Gardwell  had  returned  to  the  city  from 
Bowerville  (he  never  made  a  second  visit  to  the 
town),  he  was  for  once  unable  to  come  to  a  deci- 
sion. He  did  not  know  whether  to  be  glad  or 
sorry  that  he  had  gone  there.  He  had  certainly 
had  more  experiences  than  he  had  expected,  expe- 
riences that  partook  somewhat  of  the  nature  of  ad- 
venture. Gardwell  was  what  might  be  termed  the 
direct  antithesis  of  an  impressionist,  and  yet  he 
had  been  strongly  impressed  with  three  persons  he 
had  met  there  —  Harriet,  Emmerlsey  and  Judge 
Dunn.  So  far  as  the  last  was  concerned,  he  felt 
well  satisfied  with  his  judgment  in  having  taken 
the  pains  to  go  out  there,  and  secure  his  friend- 
ship, and  he  felt  confident  that  he  had  gained 
that.  The  judge  was  a  strong  type  of  a  strong 
man,  and  such  men  come  in  handy  to  generals 
who  fight  big  battles.  Men  of  blood  and  iron  are 
used  in  days  of  peace,  and  help  to  turn  the  tide  of 
victory  to  the  side  on  which  they  are  fighting.  He 
foresaw  that  by  means  of  the  butterfly  hobby  it 
would  not  be  a  difficult  thing  for  "him  to  keep  in 
touch  with  the  judge  for  a  long  period.  Even  if 
their  friendship  never  reached  any  closer  relations, 
the  judge  would  still  be  of  material  value  to  Gard- 
well. He  was  in  high  standing  with  the  men  of 
his  district,  and  he  belonged  to  the  party  that  sent 
representatives  to  the  state  legislature.  On  a 


92  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

pinch,  a  timely  word  from  the  judge  to  one  of 
these  men  might  be  worth  a  great  deal  to  the  cor- 
poration interests  represented  by  Gardwell. 

Old  as  he  was,  and  imbued  with  the  doctrine 
that  nothing,  not  even  gratitude,  should  ever  inter- 
fere with  the  achievement  of  a  desired  end,  he 
could  not  suppress  a  feeling  of  admiration  for 
young  Emmersley.  He  recognized  in  him  an  en- 
emy, and  one  who,  armed  with  formidable  weapons, 
might  prove  a  dangerous  adversary.  He  saw  that 
the  young  country  lawyer  was  possessed  of  an  in- 
domitable will,  of  an  Anglo-Saxon  steadfastness 
in  his  likes  and  dislikes,  and  of  a  courage  that 
none  could  question.  The  figure  of  the  stalwart 
young  rider  dashing  at  the  head  of  the  runaway 
horse  gave  him  a  thrill  whenever  he  thought  of  it, 
and  his  dislike  for  the  young  fellow  grew  apace  in 
proportion  as  the  vision  became  more  and  more 
vivid  in  his  mind. 

"I  owe  him  a  debt,"  he  thought,  "and,  by  Jove  ! 
I  '11  pay  it.  But  after  that  "  —  and  a  cruel  little 
smile  played  around  his  mouth. 

But  what  puzzled  and  annoyed  Gardwell  most 
was  this :  Why  did  his  thoughts  continually  keep 
recurring  to  Harriet  Dunn?  This  little  country 
miss  was  pretty,  it  was  true,  but  Gardwell  knew 
hundreds  of  pretty  women,  many  women  that  were 
handsome,  and  even  some  that  were  beautiful. 
And  they  had  smiled  on  him,  —  some  of  them,  — 
and  yet,  despite  all  his  efforts  to  forget  her,  the 
image  of  Harriet  Dunn,  standing  in  the  boat  and 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  93 

handling  her  fishing-rod,  her  eyes  laughing,  and 
her  face  all  smiles,  came  up  in  his  mind  when  he 
least  expected  it.  He  drove  it  away  with  a  laugh 
at  first,  and  finally  with  a  curse,  but  even  that  did 
no  good,  and  Gar  dwell  for  a  long  time  was  haunted 
by  this  apparition,  —  a  very  pretty  little  ghost,  't  is 
true,  but  an  annoying  one,  just  the  same. 

It  was  a  trifling  but  curious  little  incident  that 
impressed  on  Gardwell  the  fact  that  no  matter 
how  much  of  a  curb  the  will  may  use,  the  mind 
will  oftentimes  run  away.  Several  days  after  his 
return  from  Bowerville,  he  came  down  one  morn- 
ing to  find  his  typewriter  clerk  waiting  for  him. 

"I  can't  quite  make  this  out,  Mr.  Gardwell," 
she  said,  holding  a  phonograph  cylinder  in  her 
hand.  "Perhaps  you  had  better  put  it  back  on  the 
machine  and  listen  to  it  yourself." 

Gardwell  frowned.  "This  is  somewhat  serious, 
Kitty;  it  may  be  something  that  should  have  been 
attended  to  last  night." 

He  placed  the  wax  scroll  on  the  phonograph, 
adjusted  the  ear-tubes,  and  touched  the  button. 
This  is  what  he  heard,  in  his  own  voice  and  in  a 
low,  singing  tone :  — 

"  Come,  fishes,  from  the  deep  lagoon, 
For  you  I  cast  lum,  turn,  turn  spoon, 
Come,  great  and  small. 

"You  will  understand  that  I  want  you  to  see 
that  Aid.  W.  doesn't  vote  against  this  measure. 

"  My  hook  is  bated  with  the  wish 
That  I  may  catch  the  largest  fish  — 
Lum,  turn,  turn,  turn." 


94  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

Gardwell  stopped  the  instrument,  took  the  tube 
from  his  ears,  and,  turning  to  the  typewriter,  said 
icily:  "You  may  leave  this  cylinder  here,  Miss 
Mullins.  That  wiU  be  all." 

When  she  had  gone  from  the  room,  he  was  lost 
in  thought  for  several  minutes.  Then  he  took  the 
cylinder  from  the  machine,  carried  it  over  to  a 
corner,  and,  crushing  it  in  his  hands,  threw  the 
pieces  into  a  waste-basket. 

"Am  I  losing  my  mind?"  he  thought;  "I,  El- 
liot Gardwell,  to  be  bawling  such  nonsense  into 
a  phonograph?  I  feel  as  if  there  was  something 
uncanny  about  that  whole  Bowerville  trip.  I  can't 
get  it  out  of  my  head." 

There  is  no  telling  how  he  would  have  suc- 
ceeded, or  what  would  have  come  of  it,  but  just 
at  that  time  the  long-threatened  financial  storm 
broke.  The  warring  interests  of  rival  syndicates, 
of  one  of  which  Gardwell  was  the  head,  had  at 
last  brought  the  opposing  factions  face  to  face, 
and  there  was  great  danger  of  a  battle.  Gardwell 
was  not  ready  for  one. 

With  this  peril  staring  him  in  the  face,  he  ral- 
lied to  meet  it  with  all  the  confidence  and  energy 
of  a  Napoleon,  and  Gardwell  was  a  great  general 
in  these  wars  of  the  millionaires.  He  slept  neither 
night  nor  day  for  long  periods,  sometimes  almost 
a  week.  He  went  flying  back  and  forth  across 
the  continent,  now  in  New  York,  the  next  day  in 
Washington,  a  week  later  back  at  home,  only  to 
repeat  the  circuit  again.  There  were  councils  of 


THE  FEDERAL   JUDGE  95 

war  innumerable,  ultimata  were  issued,  and  over- 
tures for  peace  brought  truces,  while  a  skirmish 
line  of  lawyers  on  both  sides  kept  up  a  desultory 
fire.  Other  lawyers  laid  mines  and  planted  masked 
batteries.  Half  a  dozen  times  during  the  winter 
and  earlier  summer  months  the  daring  and  diplo- 
macy of  Gardwell  alone  prevented  an  open  de- 
claration of  war.  If  he  could  only  get  time  to 
strengthen  his  intrenchments  a  little  more,  he 
knew  that  they  could  not  be  carried  by  assault, 
and  he  felt  certain  that  he  could  not  be  starved 
out ;  for  his  base  of  supplies,  the  Trans- American 
Eailroad,  was  beginning  to  pay. 

But  the  road  was  not  the  only  thing  that  Gard- 
well was  concerned  about.  He  had  many  other 
great  interests  to  engross  his  attention,  and  they 
all  needed  looking  after.  Besides,  it  was  presi- 
dential year,  with  a  great  election  coming  on,  and 
in  bending  his  hand  to  politics  Gardwell  was  cast- 
ing an  anchor  to  windward  for  all  his  interests. 
He  believed  that  by  looking  after  the  details,  the 
great  things  'would  look  after  themselves ;  and  he 
never  overlooked  the  smallest  detail. 

One  of  these  was  to  keep  up  the  correspondence 
on  butterflies  with  Judge  Dunn,  and  he  made  it 
a  point  to  send  him  a  specimen  every  now  and 
then,  picked  from  the  collection  which  he  had 
purchased  just  before  his  trip  to  Bowerville.  He 
knew  what  was  going  on  in  the  Bowerville  district, 
just  as  he  knew  what  was  going  on  in  every  dis- 
trict in  the  State.  But  he  did  not  get  any  of  his 


96  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

information  from  Judge  Dunn,  for  their  corre- 
spondence related  exclusively  to  butterflies  and 
muscallonge.  It  required  only  a  few  minutes, 
with  a  copy  of  Le  Conte's  work  on  butterflies  in 
his  lap,  to  dictate  a  lengthy  letter  to  the  judge, 
and  not  a  day  passed  but  he  dictated  scores  of 
letters,  just  as  trivial,  to  other  men  with  whom  he 
wished  to  keep  in  touch. 

But  ten  months  of  this  kind  of  work  had  begun 
to  tell  on  Gardwell.  He  was  thinner  than  he  used 
to  be,  and  he  found,  every  now  and  then,  that  he 
was  unable  to  concentrate  his  thoughts.  His  phy- 
sician, who  was  a  member  of  his  club,  observed 
his  failing  condition,  and  warned  him. 

"Gardwell,"  he  said,  "you  can't  stand  this 
strain.  You  will  go  all  to  pieces  the  first  thing 
you  know.  What  you  need  is  a  rest  —  a  six 
months'  vacation." 

Gardwell  laughed.  "It  is  very  easy  for  you  to 
talk  about  rest,  but  that  is  a  prescription  I  can't 
take  now,  doctor.  You  might  just  as  well  advise 
me  to  take  a  trip  to  the  moon." 

"Very  well,"  replied  the  doctor;  "but  remember 
that  I  warned  you  in  time,  and  if  you  don't  profit 
by  it,  you  will  take  a  trip  —  and  for  aught  I  know 
it  may  be  to  the  moon." 

It  was  along  in  the  middle  of  August,  and  the 
campaign  was  hot  enough  to  match  the  days,  when 
Gardwell  was  walking  from  the  club  one  afternoon 
back  to  his  office.  As  he  crossed  the  street,  a 
man  on  a  bicycle  swung  around  the  corner  and 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  97 

collided  with  a  team.  The  rider  was  hurled  to 
the  ground  and  trampled  on  by  the  horses.  Ordi- 
narily, Gardwell  would  not  have  stopped  to  con- 
cern himself  about  a  street  accident.  But  this 
one  brought  back  to  his  mind  in  an  instant  the 
vision  of  a  frenzied  horse,  suddenly  checked  amid 
a  wreck  of  tangled  spokes  and  bent  tubing.  He 
pressed  through  the  crowd  that  soon  gathered,  and 
giving  his  card  to  the  unfortunate  rider,  who  was 
not  very  badly  injured,  although  his  wheel  was 
wrecked,  said,  "Here  is  my  address.  In  case  you 
need  me  as  a  witness,  advise  me." 

When  he  reached  his  office,  he  seated  himself 
at  his  desk,  and  for  several  moments  was  lost  in 
thought.  Finally  he  looked  up  and  touched  a 
button.  A  clerk  appeared  at  the  door,  and  Gard- 
well said :  — 

"Telephone  to  Tusher,  and  tell  him  I  want  to 
see  him  here  —  at  once." 

Presiding  at  a  caucus,  bustling  about  in  a  con- 
vention, or  giving  out  news  to  a  throng  of  report- 
ers, Chairman  Tusher,  of  the  State  Central  Com- 
mittee, was  a  very  important  personage.  Walking 
about  in  the  rotunda  of  the  Vista  Hotel,  with  men 
whispering  in  his  ear,  he  was  simply  awe-inspiring, 
but  in  the  presence  of  Elliot  Gardwell  he  shrank 
several  sizes.  He  carried  all  of  his  pomposity  to 
the  threshold  of  Gard well's  office,  but  when  he 
crossed  that  threshold  he  left  it  outside. 

"I  came  at  once,  Mr.  Gardwell,"  he  said,  tak- 
ing a  seat.  "Is  it  something  very  important?  " 


98  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

"Not  particularly,"  replied  Gardwell,  turning 
his  chair  and  looking  out  of  the  window.  "How 
are  things  looking  in  the  third  district?  "  he  asked 
in  careless  tone,  after  a  short  silence. 

"  First  -  rate,  first  -  rate,"  answered  Chairman 
Tusher.  "There  is  a  combination  against  us  up 
there,  between  the  Populists  and  the  other  fel- 
lows, but  everything  is  looking  first-rate.  We  will 
carry  the  district,  undoubtedly." 

"Well,  who  is  our  nominee  there?" 

Tusher  mentioned  the  name  and  added,  "  Stanch 
man,  too;  good  man,  very  strong  man  in  the  dis- 
trict." 

"Yes;  I  know  him,"  said  Gardwell.  "Who  is 
the  Populist  nominee?  " 

"Oh,  he  is  a  young  lawyer  named  Emmersley," 
Tusher  replied.  "He  cut  quite  a  figure  in  the 
spring  elections,  and  caused  considerable  trouble, 
but  he  is  losing  his  strength,  losing  it  very  fast." 

"Mr.  Tusher,"  said  Gardwell,  swinging  his 
chair  back  to  position,  "I  presume  I  may  ask  a 
favor  of  you;  in  fact,  I  might  say  of  the  party." 

"Certainly,  certainly,  anything  you  ask  will  be 
granted;  you  know  that  without  my  saying  it. 
Anything  that  I  can  do  will  be  done." 

"Very  well,"  said  Gardwell  quietly.  "The  fact 
of  the  matter  is,  Mr.  Tusher,  I  have  no  desire 
to  see  Brad  well  elected  in  that  district.  You  un- 
derstand." 

"Bradwell  is  a  good  man,  Mr.  Gardwell,"  said 
Tusher,  "and  the  man  who  is  opposing  him,  this 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  99 

Emmersley,  is  a  rabid  young  demagogue  of  a 
Populist.  Why,  he  is  making  speeches  every 
night  denouncing  corporations,  and,  in  fact,  every- 
body that  has  got  a  dollar  and  a  half  in  his  pock- 
ets." 

"Mr.  Tusher,"  repeated  Gardwell  slowly,  "I  do 
not  want  to  see  Mr.  Bradwell  elected  in  that  dis- 
trict. I  don't  want  to  see  him  in  Congress.  This 
is  between  ourselves,  and  I  am  frank  with  you. 
I  do  not  want  a  dollar  of  my  contribution  to  the 
campaign  fund,  —  and  I  think  I  did  my  share  " 

"Certainly,  certainly,"  interrupted  Mr.  Tusher. 

"What  is  more,  Mr.  Tusher,  I  don't  want  any 
campaign  money  spent  there  that  can  possibly  be 
avoided.  Of  course,  I  don't  want  it  to  be  made 
noticeable  that  we  are  not  supporting  Bradwell. 
But  you  understand  me." 

"All  right,"  replied  Tusher.  "But,"  he  added, 
laughing,  "it  will  be  an  even  fight,  then.  Em- 
mersley hasn't  got  a  dollar,  and  there  isn't  a  cent 
in  the  Populist  campaign  fund,  so  far  as  I  can 
find  out." 

"Well,  let  it  go  at  that,  then,"  said  Gardwell. 
"What's  new?" 

Tusher  gave  a  glowing  account  of  the  prospects 
of  success  and  incidentally  of  the  work  that  was 
being  done  in  the  interest  of  certain  senatorial 
candidates.  Gardwell  cut  the  interview  short,  and 
Tusher  obsequiously  bowed  himself  out,  swelling 
to  his  former  size  and  importance  as  the  door 
closed. 


100  THE   FEDERAL    JUDGE 

Gardwell  sent  for  Stalker,  and  when  he  came 
into  the  room,  said :  — 

"  Stalker,  here  is  a  check  for  five  hundred  dol- 
lars. It  is  payable  to  your  order.  I  want  you  to 
cash  it  here ;  and  on  the  mission  which  I  shall  ex- 
plain to  you,  I  want  you  to  use  all  of  your  cus- 
tomary tact  and  discretion.  It  won't  do  for  any- 
body —  mind  you,  I  say  anybody  —  to  know  what 
you  do  with  this  money.  Do  you  understand? " 

Stalker  smiled.      "Very  well,"  he  replied. 

"I  want  you  to  take  this  money,  and  go  out  to 
the  third  district,  and  put  it  where  it  will  do  the 
most  good,"  —  he  hesitated  for  a  second  and  cast 
his  penetrating  eyes  full  on  Stalker's  face,  — 
"where  it  will  do  the  most  good,"  he  continued, 
"for  a  man  named  Emmersley,  running  for  Con- 
gress on  a  fusion  ticket." 

Not  a  muscle  of  Stalker's  face  moved.  He  had 
been  too  long  in  the  service  of  Elliot  Gardwell  to 
be  surprised  at  anything  where  money  was  a 
factor. 

"I  know  a  man  right  here  in  town  who  will 
place  it  all  right,"  he  said. 

"Very  well,"  replied  Gardwell;  "use  your  own 
judgment,  but  remember,  no  one  must  know  where 
it  comes  from." 

When  Stalker  had  left  the  room,  Gardwell 
arose,  and,  stretching  his  arms  at  full  length  above 
his  head,  took  a  long  breath.  "There,"  he  ex- 
claimed, "I've  paid  off  that  debt,  at  last.  One 
vote  in  Congress  won't  cut  any  material  figure,  and 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  101 

he  will  never  be  heard  of  again.  One  term  as  a 
Populist  congressman  will  fix  him,"  and  Gardwell 
smiled.  "No  one  can  accuse  Elliot  Gardwell  of 
being  ungrateful,"  he  added,  and  the  smile  devel- 
oped into  a  laugh. 


CHAPTER  IX 

THE  mellow  light  from  a  shaded  electric  globe 
cast  its  gleam  over  the  front  room  of  one  of  the 
Albemarle  flats  in  Chiopolis.  The  room  was  well 
furnished,  not  extravagantly,  that  is,  but  every- 
thing about  it  indicated  that  the  occupants  pos- 
sessed a  refined  taste,  and  sufficient  money  to 
gratify  it.  Seated  at  a  table,  gazing  intently  at 
a  photograph  which  she  held  in  her  hand,  was  a 
slender  woman,  about  thirty  years  of  age.  She 
was  a  remarkably  prepossessing  woman  in  looks, 
having  large  lustrous  eyes,  an  aquiline  nose,  and 
hair  of  a  tawny  reddish  hue,  twisted  into  a  Grecian 
knot  on  the  back  of  her  head.  The  picture  which 
she  held  was  that  of  a  handsome  man,  with  a  pair 
of  black  eyes  that  seemed  to  shoot  their  rays  out 
of  the  photograph  into  her  own. 

"Ah,  Charles,"  she  murmured,  "when  will  the 
day  come  when  you  and  I  can  be  together  all  the 
time,  instead  of  seeing  each  other  only  once  a 
week,  and  then  sometimes  missing  ?  But  he  '11  be 
here  to-night,"  she  added,  after  a  moment's  re- 
flection. Her  face  assumed  a  brighter  look,  and 
getting  up  she  placed  the  picture  on  the  mantel. 
"He'll  be  here  to-night,"  she  repeated,  "for  this 
is  Saturday  night  —  my  Saturday  night." 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  103 

She  had  hardly  finished  speaking  when  she 
heard  the  hall  door  open,  and  the  next  minute  she 
was  clasped  in  the  arms  of  Charles  Windrift. 

"Oh,  I  am  so  glad  to  see  you,  darling,"  she 
cried,  clinging  to  his  neck.  "I  grow  so  nervous 
every  Saturday  night  when  you  are  not  here  at 
eight  o'clock.  I  don't  know  what  makes  me  feel 
so,  but  I  watch  the  clock  and  am  filled  with  a 
thousand  fears  the  minute  you  are  late." 

"You  mustn't  allow  that,"  he  replied,  kissing 
her,  and  stroking  her  hair.  "I  came  in  on  the 
Monon  route,  and  the  train  was  half  an  hour  late." 

"I  am  glad  you  are  here,  safe  and  sound,"  she 
said,  "and  I  don't  mind  the  half  hour.  But  come, 
supper  is  ready,  and  has  been  for  quite  a  while." 

She  led  him  out  into  the  cosy  dining-room,  and 
tapped  a  bell,  in  response  to  which  a  neatly 
dressed  servant  appeared,  bowed,  and  retired  again 
to  the  kitchen. 

Delia  Windrift  knew  that  her  husband  was  a 
secret  service  man,  connected  with  some  branch  of 
the  federal  government,  and  that  his  duties  kept 
him  on  the  road  most  of  the  time ;  but  he  generally 
managed  to  be  with  her  on  Saturday  nights. 
Sometimes  his  duties  took  him  to  the  East,  New 
York,  Washington,  Philadelphia,  or  Boston,  and 
on  these  trips  he  never  failed  to  telegraph  to  his 
wife.  While  in  Western  territory,  however,  it 
was  different,  and  he  had  explained  to  her  that 
the  peculiar  nature  of  his  business  made  it  impos- 
sible for  him  to  communicate  with  her  in  any  way 


104  THE    FEDERAL   JUDGE 

while  in  the  country  contiguous  to  Chiopolis. 
They  had  lived  in  this  way  for  three  years,  and  it 
is  probable  that  there  was  not  a  happier  woman 
in  the  city  than  Delia  Windrift.  Her  husband's 
salary,  he  had  told  her,  was  not  large,  but  the 
allowance  that  he  gave  her  was  amply  sufficient  to 
pay  the  rent  of  the  flat,  and  to  keep  it  up  in  first- 
class  style.  A  year  previous,  after  some  little 
opposition  on  her  husband's  part,  she  had  suc- 
ceeded in  obtaining  his  permission  to  engage  in 
newspaper  work  upon  the  "Daily  Forum."  Her 
efforts  to  secure  a  position  on  the  paper,  however, 
had  not  been  successful,  until,  finally,  her  husband 
had  said :  "  Well,  Delia,  so  long  as  you  are  deter- 
mined to  go  to  work  on  a  newspaper,  I  might  as 
well  help  you.  I  will  give  you  a  letter  to  the 
editor-in-chief  of  the  'Forum'  on  one  condition,  and 
it  is  a  hard  one  to  impose  on  a  woman." 

"What  is  that?  "  she  had  asked;  "I  '11  agree  to 
it  if  it  will  get  me  a  position.  Why,  just  think 
how  much  money  we  can  save.  I  could  put  by 
every  cent  that  I  earned,  and  in  a  short  time  we 
would  have  a  nice  little  bank  account.  Then  you 
can  get  a  vacation,  and  I  will  take  you  for  a  trip." 

"The  condition  is  this,"  Windrift  had  said.  "I 
will  give  you  a  letter  to  the  editor-in-chief  of  the 
'Forum'  —  sealed.  You  are  to  present  it  to  him, 
and  under  no  conditions  are  you  to  ask  any  ques- 
tions or  read  the  letter.  Do  you  give  me  your 
word?  " 

"I  do  —  why,  of  course  I  do,  darling." 


THE  FEDERAL   JUDGE  105 

"Very  well,"  was  his  answer;  "you  are  the 
only  woman  I  know  who  can  keep  her  word." 

He  gave  her  the  letter.  At  first,  when  she  had 
presented  it,  the  editor  had  treated  her  very  coolly ; 
but  after  he  had  opened  and  read  it,  he  jumped 
up,  and,  giving  her  a  seat,  said :  "  Why,  certainly, 
Mrs.  Windrift.  I  shall  be  pleased  to  give  you  a 
chance  here.  When  do  you  want  to  go  to  work?  " 

"At  once,"  she  answered. 

"Very  well,  you  may  come  to-morrow."  And 
from  that  day  she  had  been  holding  the  position. 

An  ability  to  write  good  English,  an  instinct 
for  news,  and  a  pleasing  personality,  which  did 
not  impress  everybody  with  the  sometimes  unpleas- 
ant fact  that  there  was  a  woman  about  the  office, 
had  made  her  a  success  from  the  beginning.  At 
first  she  worked  on  space,  that  is,  she  was  paid  by 
the  column  for  what  she  wrote,  but  as  she  im- 
proved, and  the  amount  that  she  wrote  increased, 
it  was  deemed  a  wise  move  on  the  part  of  the 
managing  editor  to  place  her  on  the  regular  staff, 
and  she  had  been  drawing  a  fair  salary  for  the 
last  eight  months.  She  wrote  up  the  fashions  and 
articles  about  women,  and  had  even  now  and  then 
picked  up  a  news  "story."  She  was  as  much  in 
love  with  her  work  as  she  was  with  her  husband, 
and  that  is  saying  a  great  deal. 

"I  have  been  complimented  on  my  work  again," 
she  said  gayly,  as  she  poured  the  tea ;  "  in  fact,  I 
have  received  so  many  compliments  that  I  fear 
you  will  be  jealous  if  I  tell  you  about  them." 


106  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

"Oh,  not  at  all,"  said  Windrift,  laughing. 
"Nothing  can  make  me  jealous  of  you." 

"  Well,  the  story  that  I  wrote  on  Lillian  Kus- 
sell's  hose  created  a  sensation.  Even  the  city 
editor  look  pleased,  and  the  managing  editor  com- 
plimented me." 

"I  read  it  in  Louisville,"  remarked  Windrift. 

"Why,  how  is  that?     It  was  published  to-day." 

"Oh,  that's  so,"  said  Windrift;  "I  got  it  on 
the  train.  The  day  has  been  such  a  long  one 
that  I  thought  I  had  read  it  yesterday." 

"But  that  isn't  all,"  she  burst  out;  "I  've  been 
promoted  —  that  is,  I  am  to  have  a  higher  class  of 
work.  I  have  an  assignment  for  next  week,  and 
what  do  you  suppose  it  is?  " 

"I  can't  possibly  guess,"  Windrift  replied. 
"Newspapers  print  everything  nowadays." 

"I  am  to  do  the  divorce  cases,  and  write  them 
up  from  a  woman's  standpoint.  My!  but  won't 
I  make  a  sensation.  It  was  my  own  idea,  too. 
I  suggested  that  divorce  cases  were  being  written 
up  week  after  week,  and  year  after  year,  by  men, 
—  most  of  them  unmarried  men,  who  don't  know 
anything  about  it.  I  thought  it  would  be  a  good 
plan  to  have  them  written  up  by  a  woman,  and 
presented  from  her  standpoint." 

"Be  careful,  my  dear,  that  you  don't  get  into 
a  divorce  court  as  one  of  the  principals  yourself," 
said  Windrift,  with  a  laugh. 

"Well,  I  wouldn't  know  what  to  do  if  it  should 
come  to  that,"  she  replied  saucily.  "I  don't  see 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  107 

you  often  or  long  enough  to  be  able  to  serve  papers 
on  you." 

"Yes,  it  is  hard,"  he  said;  "but  you  do  not 
feel  it  more  than  I  do.  God  knows  that  I  wish 
I  had  nothing  to  do,  my  dear,  but  to  sit  here  at 
home  with  you." 

She  jumped  up,  and,  running  around  the  table, 
threw  her  arms  about  his  neck  and  kissed  him. 

"I  know  you  do,  darling,  I  know  you  do,"  she 
cried;  "and  some  day  we  will  live  together  that 
way.  And  yet  I  am  happy,  oh !  so  happy.  Just 
think  of  it,  I  have  nearly  four  hundred  dollars  in 
the  bank  now,  and  you  have  got  a  steady  position, 
and  if  we  keep  on,  we  shall  become  rich.  Just 
think  of  it,  Charles." 

They  passed  a  pleasant  evening  together,  billing 
and  cooing  like  lovers,  although  Mr.  Windrift  was 
very  much  fatigued.  The  next  day  he  lounged 
around  the  little  flat,  reading  the  newspapers  and 
smoking,  for  he  seldom  went  out  when  at  home. 
He  was  cautious  about  making  acquaintances,  and 
did  not  care  to  be  seen  much  while  in  the  city, 
which,  as  she  very  well  understood,  was  on  account 
of  his  business.  He  always  made  it  a  point  to 
leave  at  night,  sometimes  in  the  neighborhood  of 
eight  o'clock,  and  sometimes  staying  as  late  as  ten. 
He  had  been  known  on  several  occasions  even  to 
wait  and  catch  one  of  the  fast  mail-trains  out,  at 
four  o'clock  in  the  morning.  On  this  visit  he 
waited  for  the  10.30  train. 

"I  am  not  feeling  very  well,  Delia,"  he  said, 


108  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

when  he  left  her;  "this  staying  up  nights  and 
traveling  about  without  regular  sleep  is  beginning 
to  tell  on  me." 

"Yes,  Charles,"  she  answered,  "I  have  noticed 
it,  although  I  wouldn't  say  anything.  What  you 
need  is  a  rest.  Can't  you  make  some  arrangement 
to  get  it?" 

"There  is  no  rest  for  me,"  he  resumed;  "at 
least  not  for  a  while.  Now,  be  a  good  girl,  and 
be  careful  you  don't  get  mixed  up  on  that  divorce 
business.  It  is  barely  possible  that  I  won't  be 
able  to  reach  here  next  Saturday  night." 

"Oh,  Charles,"  she  cried,  "do  come  if  you  can. 
It 's  the  only  bright  spot  I  have  in  my  life.  Oh, 
I  don't  mean  that,"  she  cried,  noticing  the  shadow 
that  crossed  his  face.  "It  is  bright  enough  week 
days,  but  it  is  brighter  on  Saturday  night  and 
Sunday,  when  you  are  here." 

He  kissed  her  good-by,  and  went  out. 

"Alone  again,"  she  thought,  as  she  walked 
back  into  the  cosy  little  parlor.  "Here  I  am,  a 
woman  that  has  everything  she  wants  except  her 
husband,  and  there  are  hundreds  and  hundreds  of 
other  women  in  the  city  who  have  nothing  that 
they  want  excepting  their  husbands  —  and  some  of 
them  don't  want  them  very  bad,  either.  What  a 
queer  combination  ours  is,  after  all:  Charles  in 
the  secret  service,  and  I  on  the  bureau  of  pub- 
licity. He  keeps  everything  from  everybody,  and 
I  tell  everything  to  everybody." 

Delia  Windrift  was   by  far  the  most  popular 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  109 

woman  that  had  ever  worked  on  the  "Daily 
Forum."  She  had  a  desk  of  her  own,  and  in  the 
same  room  were  the  sporting  editor  and  Chubly, 
the  artist.  At  first,  the  sporting  editor,  a  grizzled 
veteran,  had  strenuously  objected  to  being  put  in 
the  same  room  with  a  woman,  or  rather  to  having 
a  woman  put  in  the  same  room  with  him,  for  he  had 
occupied  that  apartment  for  years. 

""That's  all  right,  McGuire,"  said  the  manag- 
ing editor.  "What  you  need  is  toning  down  a 
little  bit  yourself,  and  besides,  it  will  be  a  sort 
of  a  check  on  some  of  your  constituents.  They 
make  too  much  noise,  anyway.  They  disturb  the 
literary  critic  in  the  next  room.  You  will  find 
her  a  very  nice  person.  She  isn't  a  bit  squeam- 
ish." 

McGuire  held  out  for  a  month,  simply  greeting 
her  whenever  they  chanced  to  meet,  but  at  the  end 
of  that  time  he  capitulated.  McGuire  had  two 
callers  one  day,  a  baseball  player  and  a  boxer. 
They  were  smoking  when  they  came  in,  but  they 
threw  their  cigars  away  when  they  saw  a  woman 
sitting  in  the  corner.  McGuire  shrugged  his  shoul- 
ders, and  gave  them  a  wink.  His  back  was  turned 
to  Delia  Windrift,  but  she  understood  it.  Reach- 
ing up,  she  opened  a  little  drawer  in  her  desk, 
and  took  out  three  cigars.  Then  she  got  up,  and 
walking  over  said,  with  a  smile:  "Gentlemen, 
please  smoke.  This  is  a  newspaper  office,  not  a 
parlor.  Besides,  I  like  the  odor  of  a  good  cigar," 
she  added,  with  a  laugh. 


110  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

After  that  McGuire  was  Delia  Windrift's 
champion  in  the  office,  and  he  came  very  near 
punching  the  head  of  a  fresh  young  reporter  who 
made  a  coarse  jest  in  reference  to  her.  The 
tongue  lashing  that  McGuire  administered  to  the 
youngster  in  a  vernacular  of  which  he  was  thor- 
ough master  when  aroused  made  such  an  impres- 
sion that  no  one  in  the  office  dared  to  say  a  word 
in  criticism  of  Delia  Windrift  when  he  was 
around.  And  he  even  went  so  far  as  to  take  up 
any  derogatory  or  insinuating  remarks  that  were 
made  when  he  was  not  present. 

Little  Chubly  was  of  a  different  type.  He  was 
an  Englishman,  and  from  a  good  family.  Coming 
over  to  New  York,  he  had  expected  to  secure  em- 
ployment at  once,  but  had  been  unsuccessful.  He 
gradually  drifted  to  Chiopolis,  working  at  all  sorts 
of  odd  jobs,  and,  happening  one  day  to  see  a  pecu- 
liarly atrocious  illustration  in  one  of  the  papers, 
remembered  that  in  his  school  days  he  had  taken 
several  prizes  for  drawing.  He  forthwith  went  to 
making  sketches,  and,  going  to  a  newspaper  office, 
submitted  them  to  the  city  editor.  The  result 
was  that  after  some  persistence  he  was  given  a 
trial,  and  now  held  a  steady  position  as  one  of 
the  staff  of  artists  on  the  "Forum."  He  had  been 
with  them  three  or  four  years ;  but  being  of  a  re- 
tiring nature,  no  one  had  come  to  know  him  inti- 
mately. He  became  known  as  "Silent  Chubly," 
and  one  of  the  staff  once  remarked:  "There's  a 
combination  for  your  life,  that  Chubly.  Never 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  111 

says  a  word,  and  never  writes  a  word,  and  yet  he 
gets  a  bigger  salary  than  half  the  newspaper  men 
in  the  city." 

"True,  but  his  pictures  speak  for  him,"  some 
one  said.  "That 's  what  they  do,"  was  the  reply. 
"I'd  rather  be  roasted  for  two  columns  by  the 
best  ink  slinger  in  Chiopolis  than  to  have  Chubly 
do  me  up  with  one  of  his  cartoons." 

Chubly  was  awed  when  Delia  Windrift  was  first 
given  a  desk  in  his  room.  For  days  and  days  he 
sat  there,  and  drew  and  drew  at  his  board,  and 
never  looked  up  excepting  to  say  "good -morning" 
when  she  came,  or  "good-evening  "  when  she  went 
away  at  night. 

But  Delia  Windrift  was  n't  the  kind  of  woman 
to  let  that  state  of  affairs  exist  very  long.  Grad- 
ually, but  slowly  and  surely,  she  wore  away  the 
reserve  of  the  bashful  young  artist,  until  finally 
they  became  the  best  of  friends.  In  fact,  Chubly 
almost  worshiped  her.  He  also  was  a  champion 
of  Delia's.  The  only  time  anybody  in  the  office 
ever  heard  him  speak  loud  enough  to  be  heard 
through  a  telephone  was  when  a  drunken  constit- 
uent of  the  sporting  editor  had  invaded  the  room 
and  used  profane  language  in  her  presence. 

"You  villain!"  he  shrieked,  jumping  up  and 
grabbing  a  pair  of  long  exchange  shears.  "Leave 
this  room  instantly,  or  you  will  never  live  to  whip 
the  sporting  editor  that  you  are  talking  about. 
Get  out  of  this,  you  villain,  or  I  will  stick  these 
through  you." 


112  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

And  so  ferocious  and  determined  was  the  aspect 
of  little  Chubly,  that  the  inebriated  sport  beat  a 
hasty  retreat,  closely  pursued  by  Chubly,  who  saw 
him  safely  on  the  elevator.  And  the  last  words 
that  he  heard  as  he  was  dropped  down  to  the  lower 
landing,  were  the  shrill  tones  of  Chubly:  "By 
Jove,  sir,  I  will  assassinate  you,  if  you  ever  come 
up  here  again  and  use  such  language  in  the  pres- 
ence of  a  lady.  Elevator  boy,  don't  ever  let  that 
man  come  up  here  again,  or  I  will  settle  with 
you."  Then  Chubly  subsided. 

"Thank  you,  Mr.  Chubly,"  said  Delia,  when 
he  came  back  and  seated  himself  at  his  drawing- 
board. 

"  I  've  a  sister  in  the  old  country,"  replied  Chubly 
half  apologetically;  "I  was  thinking  of  her." 

"Oh,"  exclaimed  Delia,  "then  it  was  not  for  my 
sake  at  all." 

"Yes,"  stammered  Chubly,  growing  very  red 
in  the  face,  "it  was  on  account  of  you.  The  fact 
is,  you  are  the  only  one  that  thinks  that  I  shall 
ever  become  an  artist." 

"I  do  think  that,"  said  Delia;  "I  think  your 
drawing  is  artistic,  and  that  you  show  improve- 
ment every  day.  But  you  must  also  remember 
that  you  are  the  only  one  who  thinks  I  am  going 
to  become  a  good  newspaper  man !  " 

"Oh,  no,  I  ain't,"  said  Chubly.  "I  hear  the 
fellows  talking  about  you  every  night  or  so  over  at 
Boyle's.  Most  of  them  say  you  are  all  right,  and 
that  means  a  good  deal  with  those  fellows." 


THE    FEDERAL    JUDGE  113 

From  that  time  on  Delia  and  Chubly  were  com- 
rades, and  the  relationship  grew  closer  day  by 
day.  He  gave  her  little  pointers  and  "tips,"  as 
he  called  them,  as  to  how  to  bring  out  the  strong 
points  in  her  stories.  And  in  return  she  made 
suggestions  in  reference  to  sketches  and  illustra- 
tions, particularly  where  woman's  attire  was  con- 
cerned, which  he  found  very  valuable.  But  it 
was  when  Chubly  was  assigned  to  illustrate  some 
of  Delia's  own  work  that  his  genius  found  inspira- 
tion, and  so  noticeable  was  the  result  that  the 
managing  editor  remarked:  "Great  Scott!  if  I 
could  have  Chubly  illustrate  other  people's  work 
the  way  he  does  Mrs.  Windrift's,  I  'd  have  the 
town  afire.  He  's  a  wonder  when  he  does  his  best. 
I  wonder  whether  she  'd  marry  him,"  he  contin- 
ued, his  business  instinct  coming  to  the  front; 
"they  'd  make  a  team  that  would  beat  the  world." 

And  if  the  truth  be  told,  poor  little  Chubly 
himself  was  forever  dreaming  dreams  and  building 
castles  in  the  air  which  always  had  room  for  two. 
For  he  had  somehow  got  it  into  his  head,  and,  in 
fact,  it  was  the  general  supposition  around  the 
"Forum  "  office,  that  there  was  no  "Mr.  Windrift " 
on  this  side  of  the  grave. 


CHAPTER  X 

SELF-DECEIT  is  a  narcotic  which  the  strongest 
minds  sometimes  administer  to  themselves,  and 
under  its  influence  the  most  ignoble  acts  take  on 
the  guise  of  merit.  It  was  so  with  Gardwell. 
While  he  closely  followed  the  political  events  of 
the  year,  and  was  well  posted  on  the  situation  in 
every  district  of  the  State,  he  was  not  infallible, 
and  nothing  is  so  uncertain  as  the  result  of  a  po- 
litical campaign.  Coldly  calculating,  he  would 
not  have  given  a  straw  for  Robert  Emmersley's 
chances  of  being  elected  in  the  old  third  congres- 
sional district,  but  it  afforded  him  gratification  to 
think  that  he  had  done  that  young  man  a  great 
favor  ostensibly  with  the  highest  of  motives,  and 
in  answer  to  the  promptings  of  a  feeling  which 
had  hitherto  been  accorded  a  scant  hearing,  —  that 
of  gratitude.  At  any  rate,  he  stood  to  win,  no 
matter  which  way  the  returns  came  in.  Should 
Emmersley  be  elected,  the  greater  would  be  his 
sacrifice  for  the  man  who  had  saved  his  life  at  the 
risk  of  his  own,  while  on  the  other  hand,  should 
he  be  defeated,  it  would  not  be  his  fault.  He  had 
done  all  that  he  could  do,  had  paid  his  debt,  and 
no  harm  could  come  of  it.  But  he  had  made  a 
slight  miscalculation,  or  rather  he  had  not  calcu- 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  115 

lated  at  all  on  the  zeal  with  which  Chairman 
Tusher  served  him  first  and  his  party  afterwards, 
and  neither  had  he  given  Stalker  credit  for  increas- 
ing the  purchasing  power  of  five  hundred  dollars 
to  the  extent  that  he  was  capable  of  when  person- 
ally interested  in  its  expenditure. 

Stalker  had  asked  no  questions,  but  he  surmised 
that  Chairman  Tusher  had  not  been  consulted ;  and 
as  that  gentleman,  not  knowing  Stalker's  real 
position  and  actual  occupation,  had  snubbed  him 
on  several  occasions,  he  resolved  to  do  his  utmost 
to  defeat  Bradwell,  whom  he  knew  to  be  one  of 
Tusher 's  friends.  Tusher,  however,  was  bound  by 
no  ties  of  friendship  or  party  fealty  when  his  own 
interests  were  involved,  and  he  at  once  went  to 
work,  first  to  withdraw  support,  as  Gardwell  had 
dictated,  and  then  by  positive  efforts  to  secure 
Brad  well's  defeat,  —  efforts  which  were  none  the 
less  effective  because  they  were  not  openly  made. 

In  the  meantime,  Stalker  also  was  at  work,  and 
so  cunningly  did  he  expend  the  five  hundred  dol- 
lars intrusted  to  him  that  before  it  was  half  gone, 
there  was  a  well-defined  rumor  in  the  district  that 
the  money  of  large  corporations  was  being  spent 
with  an  open  hand  to  secure  the  defeat  of  Rob- 
ert Emmersley,  the  farmers'  choice.  Emmersley 
heard  these  rumors,  and  believed  them,  backed  as 
they  were  by  his  own  knowledge  that  an  agent  of 
the  Trans-American  Railroad  and  other  corpora- 
tion interests  had  been  in  the  district,  and  had 
approached  certain  men  with  money.  Some  of 


116  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

these,  in  fact,  had  not  only  accepted  the  money, 
but  had  straightway  carried  the  news  into  the 
other  camp.  Emmersley  was  thus  spurred  to  even 
greater  exertion,  and  he  openly  charged  that  he 
was  being  fought  by  the  money  power  from  the 
great  city.  While  he  did  not  mention  his  suspi- 
cions to  any  one,  he  was  nevertheless  confident  in 
his  own  mind  that  the  man  who  was  fighting  him 
was  none  other  than  Gardwell.  This  did  not  sur- 
prise him  at  all ;  but  he  reasoned  bitterly  with  him- 
self that  had  he  not  been  forced  to  place  the  cor- 
poration magnate  under  obligations  to  him,  he 
would  have  been  less  likely  to  suffer  at  his  hands 
now. 

As  for  Judge  Dunn's  attitude,  he  was  a  strict 
party  man,  and  as  the  campaign  grew  hotter  in 
the  district,  his  own  ardor  grew  apace.  The  old 
war  spirit  was  wakened  in  him,  and  he  finally  sal- 
lied forth,  once  more,  as  he  thought,  to  do  battle 
for  his  country.  On  every  side  he  met  the  same 
arguments  against  corporations  which  he  had  used 
for  years,  and  he  soon  found  himself  in  a  decidedly 
unpleasant  position.  He  made  several  campaign 
speeches,  but  had  invariably  been  interrupted  by 
people  in  the  audience  who  wanted  to  know  why 
he  didn't  talk  now  the  way  he  had  talked  a  year 
ago.  On  his  replying  that  national  issues  were 
involved  in  the  present  campaign,  and  that  reforms 
would  be  effected  within  the  party  and  not  outside 
of  it,  he  was  greeted  with  hoots  of  derision. 

On  the  last  occasion  when  he  addressed  a  mass 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  117 

meeting,  a  man  in  the  audience  had  shouted, 
"That 's  all  right,  judge,  but  you  hain't  been  the 
same  since  you  had  that  fellow  Gardwell  here  from 
Malton,  a  hobnobbing  'round  with  him,  and  tak- 
ing him  out  fishing  and  having  him  up  to  your 
house."  This  sally  was  greeted  with  laughter  and 
applause,  which  so  incensed  the  judge  that,  old 
man  though  he  was,  it  would  have  gone  hard  with 
the  fellow  could  he  have  laid  hands  on  him.  But 
he  made  no  more  speeches.  He  took  it  out  on 
Emmersley,  however,  in  the  family  circle,  and 
even  went  so  far  as  to  express  surprise  to  Harriet 
that  she  had  ever  looked  with  favor  on  such  an 
addle-pated  young  anarchist  as  Robert  Emmers- 
ley. Harriet  made  no  reply,  but  that  night  she 
cried  herself  to  sleep,  thinking  of  the  many  happy 
hours  she  had  spent  with  Eobert.  It  had  been  a 
lonesome  summer  for  her,  and  she,  too,  'had  laid 
her  troubles  at  Gardwell' s  door.  "Dear!  dear!" 
she  cried.  "I  don't  know  what  it  is  all  about 
anyway.  Papa  and  Robert  used  to  get  along  so 
nicely  together,  and  I  can't  see  that  Robert  has 
changed  any;  he  always  used  to  talk  that  way." 

The  summer  wore  along,  and  it  was  only  a  few 
days  before  election  when  something  happened 
that  disarranged  the  plans  that  Gardwell  had 
worked  so  hard  to  lay  and  consummate.  It  was 
a  blow  from  an  unexpected  source,  dealt  by  the 
Angel  of  Death.  Gardwell  had  been  in  particu- 
larly good  spirits  for  several  weeks.  His  faction 
in  the  Trans-American  Company  was  in  the  as- 


118  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

cendency;  and  even  should  the  opposition  again 
obtain  control,  he  had  in  reserve  a  trump  card  for 
a  final  coup.  This  card  was  now  taken  from  him. 
As  he  came  down  from  his  office  and  out  to  the 
street  on  his  way  to  the  club  for  luncheon,  a  news- 
boy dashed  up  to  him  and  cried,  "Extry!  Paper! 
All  about  the  death  of  Judge  Frezett!"  It  was 
like  some  one  plunging  a  dagger  into  his  breast. 
A  tremor  shook  his  frame,  and  his  lips  tightened 
and  grew  ashen  gray,  but  it  was  only  for  an  in- 
stant. He  handed  the  boy  a  nickel  and  said, 
"Give  me  a  paper,  my  son." 

In  black  headlines  he  read,  "Called  to  a  Higher 
Court!  Judge  Frezett  stricken  with  Apoplexy 
while  on  the  Bench!"  He  folded  the  paper  and 
put  it  into  his  pocket  and  walked  to  the  club.  On 
the  way  he  was  stopped  by  a  number  of  acquaint- 
ances, Who  spoke  of  the  judge's  sudden  death,  and 
to  whom  Gardwell  expressed  himself  in  a  conven- 
tional way,  showing  neither  more  nor  less  of  feel- 
ing than  was  strictly  due  on  such  an  occasion.  At 
the  club,  contrary  to  his  usual  custom,  he  secured 
a  table  by  himself  in  one  corner  of  the  dining-room ; 
and  while  he  ordered  very  freely,  the  waiter  observed 
that  he  ate  sparingly,  and  was  lost  in  thought. 

"They  are  hard  to  find  —  hard  to  find,"  —  he 
muttered  over  his  coffee,  "a  good  lawyer  without 
a  corporation  taint,  but  I  must  find  one." 

The  Trans-American  Railroad  was  the  offspring 
of  an  enormous  government  land  -  grant.  This 
grant  was  secured  by  a  man  named  Wilier,  who 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  119 

gathered  about  him  a  number  of  heavy  capitalists. 
It  extended  over  thousands  of  miles  of  the  finest 
farming,  timber,  and  mining  lands  in  the  world, 
and  gave  to  the  company  every  second  section. 
On  the  strength  of  these  land-grants  bonds  were 
sold  and  money  obtained  with  which  to  build  the 
road.  Right  here  began  a  system  of  financiering 
which  some  had  dared  in  open  court  to  call  rank 
robbery.  Wilier  and  his  more  intimate  associates, 
among  whom  was  Gardwell,  at  once  organized  a 
construction  company,  to  whom  they  let  contracts 
at  liberal  figures  for  building  the  road.  The  price 
paid  per  mile  was  from  ten  to  fourteen  thousand 
dollars,  while  it  was  estimated  that  eight  thousand 
dollars  a  mile  would  have  been  a  fair  price.  Wil- 
ier and  his  associates  took  their  pay  in  construction 
bonds  which  had  not  been  sold  by  the  company, 
and  with  these  they  raised  the  cash  for  the  labor 
and  material  used  in  the  work.  The  profits  they 
divided  among  themselves  according  to  the  amount 
of  bonds  held  by  each.  The  main  line  once  built, 
it  was  found  to  be  of  no  value,  for  it  had  no 
feeder ;  so  the  same  clique  went  to  work  to  build 
feeders,  organizing  some  thirty  different  construc- 
tion companies,  through  as  many  different  locali- 
ties. These  companies  were  organized  on  the  same 
plan  as  that  of  the  original  company,  which  built 
the  main  line,  and  they  were  organized  and  man- 
aged by  Wilier  and  his  associates,  although  their 
names  did  not  appear. 

When  a  branch  line  was  finished,  there  would 


120  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

be  a  meeting  of  the  directors  of  the  parent  com- 
pany, and  some  member  on  the  inside  of  the  deal 
would  move  that  a  committee  be  appointed  to  ex- 
amine into  the  branch  line  and  the  feasibility  of 
purchasing  it.  The  report  would  invariably  favor 
the  purchase,  and  the  main  company  would  then 
assume  all  debts  and  bonds  of  the  branch  line, 
and  pay  cash  to  the  owners  of  it,  the  money  for 
this  coming  out  of  the  sale  to  the  public  of  new 
bonds  of  the  main  line. 

But  murder  will  out,  and  in  the  course  of  time 
some  of  the  directors  and  capitalists  who  were 
not  let  into  these  profitable  deals  grew  suspicious 
and  fault-finding.  The  company  was  unable  to 
pay  interest  on  the  bonds  which  had  been  sold, 
and  European  investors  began  to  look  into  the 
affairs,  aided  by  American  investors,  who  were 
also  dissatisfied  with  the  way  in  which  matters  had 
been  conducted.  A  strong  minority  was  organ- 
ized, headed  by  a  man  named  Trine.  After  three 
years  of  minority  fighting,  Trine  organized  a  syn- 
dicate, got  control  of  the  majority  of  the  original 
stock,  had  himself  elected  president,  and  assumed 
control  with  the  avowed  purpose  of  inaugurating 
a  general  reform.  Trine  caused  an  investigation, 
which  put  Wilier  in  disgrace ;  but  no  sooner  was 
he  himself  sure  of  his  seat  in  the  saddle  than  he 
went  to  work  to  build  more  branch  lines  on  exactly 
the  same  plans  as  his  predecessors.  But  Wilier 
was  not  a  man  to  tamely  lie  down  under  defeat, 
especially  with  such  a  lieutenant  as  Gardwell  on 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  121 

his  staff,  and  he  went  immediately  to  Europe. 
By  some  great  power  (it  has  been  asserted  that  he 
was  a  hypnotist,  and  taught  the  art  to  several  of 
his  associates)  he  convinced  the  European  bond- 
holders that  he  was  trustworthy,  with  the  result 
that  he  reappeared  in  America,  a  year  later,  backed 
by  a  syndicate  of  bondholders  of  such  strength  that 
they  were  enabled  to  capture  a  majority  of  the 
stock  by  buying  it  in  open  market. 

Trine  was  deposed,  and  Wilier  and  Gardwell 
put  in,  as  a  figure-head,  a  man  named  Bass. 
Again  in  power,  Wilier  and  Gardwell  very  soon 
realized  that  they  had  an  elephant  on  their  hands, 
and  one  which  they  could  not  control.  The  case 
was  a  desperate  one,  and  Gardwell  foresaw  that 
sooner  or  later  the  Trine  faction  would  again  ob- 
tain control,  and  as  his  last  card  he  had  resolved 
to  throw  the  great  road  and  all  its  tributaries  into 
the  hands  of  a  receiver,  through  the  federal  court. 
Judge  Frezett  had  been  selected  by  Gardwell  as 
the  man  to  issue  the  decree,  and  his  sudden  death 
was  a  blow  as  crushing,  for  the  moment,  as  it  was 
unexpected. 

After  he  had  finished  his  luncheon,  Gardwell 
repaired  to  the  reading-room,  where,  though  the 
body  of  the  judge  was  not  yet  cold,  his  friends 
were  discussing  his  probable  successor  on  the 
bench.  Many  names  were  mentioned,  —  names  of 
lawyers  prominent  in  the  city  and  of  high  stand- 
ing. 

"This  is  a  sad  blow  for  you,  Gardwell,"  said 


122  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

one  of  the  young  club  members,  who  was  a  little 
the  worse  off  for  liquor;  "it  won't  be  easy  to  get 
another  like  him." 

The  speaker  was  the  son  of  a  rich  old  man. 

"Yes,"  said  Gardwell,  affecting  not  to  see  the 
meaning  glances  that  were  exchanged  by  some  of 
the  older  members,  —  "yes,  indeed.  I  don't  know 
any  one  that  I  like  to  play  whist  with  as  well  as  I 
did  with  Judge  Frezett." 

As  soon  as  he  returned  to  his  office,  and  he  did 
not  hurry  more  than  usual,  Gardwell  sent  a  dozen 
telegrams,  in  cipher,  to  Eastern  points,  and  then 
engaged  in  a  long  talk,  by  telephone,  with  Wilier, 
who  was  then  in  New  York  city.  In  the  evening 
he  attended  a  conference  at  which  were  present  a 
half  dozen  of  the  wealthy  men  of  the  city,  who  were 
largely  interested  in  corporations  both  local  and 
elsewhere.  Gardwell  at  first  took  little  part  in 
the  discussion.  A  dozen  or  more  of  the  leading 
lawyers  in  the  city  and  State  were  mentioned.  At 
the  name  of  each,  Gardwell  shook  his  head,  but 
said  nothing.  Finally,  arising  and  pacing  up 
and  down  the  room  where  they  were  gathered,  he 
said :  — 

"Gentlemen,  let  us  be  frank  about  this.  All 
the  men  whom  we  have  mentioned  are  very  esti- 
mable gentlemen,  and  nearly  all  of  them  good 
lawyers,  but  there  is  one  fatal  objection." 

He  paused,  as  if  hesitating  to  state  it. 

"Well,  what  is  that,  Gardwell?"  some  one 
asked. 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  123 

"They  all  have  had,  or  now  have,  corporation 
connections,"  was  his  reply. 

"Well,  that's  good,  coming  from  you,  Gard- 
well,"  cried  a  man  who  owned  more  telephone 
stock  than  any  other  man  in  the  Northwest. 
"Have  you  been  reading  Bob  Schilling's  paper?  " 

"No,"  replied  Gardwell,  raising  his  finger,  and 
shaking  it  in  the  air;  "but  I  have  been  reading 
the  signs  of  the  times,  gentlemen.  Let  us  drop 
all  feelings  and  consult  the  conditions.  Whether 
right  or  wrong,  the  fact  remains  that  at  the  pres- 
ent time,  there  is  a  strong  and  growing  sentiment 
against  corporations.  We  cannot  afford,  gentle- 
men, to  put  a  man  on  the  bench,  in  Judge  Fre- 
zett's  place,  of  whom  it  can  be  said  that  he  was 
ever,  at  any  time,  connected  with  corporations,  or 
showed  even  a  leaning  in  their  favor." 

"I  don't  know  how  we  are  going  to  get  a  good 
lawyer,  a  man  competent  to  fill  the  position,  if  we 
shut  out  every  one  who  ever  did  legal  business  for 
a  corporation,"  said  one  of  the  gentlemen.  "All 
nonsense! " 

"I'll  admit  they  are  few  and  far  between," 
replied  Gardwell.  "  I  have  been  trying  to  think  of 
one  ever  since  I  heard  of  Frezett's  death,  and  I 
confess  I  have  been  unable  to  find  the  right  man." 

"Then  I  for  one,"  sputtered  a  little  man  named 
Polworth  (a  little  man  physically,  but  financially 
a  big  millionaire),  "I  for  one  am  willing  to  fight 
it  out  right  now.  If  we  are  going  to  be  dictated 
to  by  a  lot  of  farmers  and  clerks  and  Populists, 


124  THE  FEDERAL   JUDGE 

and  God  knows  what,  why,  then  it  is  about  time 
that  we  retire  from  business.  I  would  put  in  the 
worst  corporation  man  that  I  could  get.  I  think 
a  man  who  has  worked  for  corporations  all  his  life 
is  the  man  that  should  decide  such  cases.  What 
cases  come  up  in  the  federal  courts?  They  are 
corporation  cases.  We  ought  to  have  a  corpora- 
tion man  to  decide  them.  It  is  all  nonsense  put- 
ting some  fellow  there  that  has  never  had  any 
business  or  experience.  I  for  one  am  ready  now 
to  make  the  fight.  I  think  the  time  has  come 
when  we  should  make  the  fight." 

"The  fight,  when  it  does  come,  will  probably 
be  decided  by  the  ballot,"  Gardwell  said  quietly. 
"And  here  is  a  book,  Mr.  Polworth,  which  I  com- 
mend to  you.  Open  it  at  any  page  and  read.  It 
is  not  a  particularly  interesting  work,  but  it  teaches 
a  great  deal."  He  handed  a  copy  of  the  Malton 
City  Directory  over  to  Mr.  Polworth.  "You  will 
observe,"  he  added,  "that  opposite  the  names  of 
the  people  in  this  book  their  occupations  are  given, 
and  that  a  large  percentage  of  them  are  laborers." 

"This  anti-corporation  cry  is  all  nonsense!" 
burst  out  Mr.  Polworth.  "What  we  want  is  a 
good  strong  man  in  Judge  Frezett's  place,  and  the 
business  will  be  shoved  out  just  as  fast  as  it  comes 
up.  Wlien  it  comes  right  down  to  it,"  he  said, 
looking  around,  "I,  for  one,  would  be  willing  to 
do  all  in  my  power  to  put  Mr.  Gardwell  himself 
on  the  bench.  He  's  a  lawyer,  and  I  don't  see 
why  he  should  not  go  on." 


THE   FEDERAL  JUDGE  125 

"Thanks,"  said  Gardwell,  "but  I  will  have  to 
plead  previous  business  engagements.  I  agree 
with  Mr.  Polworth  that  we  need  a  strong-minded 
and  fearless  man,  and  I  think  possibly  that  we  can 
find  one  by  looking  about  a  little.  What  we  want, 
however,  as  I  said  before,  is  a  man  who  has  had 
no  previous  corporation  affiliations.  Gentlemen," 
he  exclaimed,  warming  up,  "I  care  not  what  this 
man's  previous  affiliations  may  have  been,  bring 
him  in  here  and  put  him  on  the  federal  bench, 
and  if  he  is  a  man  of  strong  character  —  I  want 
no  weakling  —  I  will  guarantee  you  that  his  en- 
vironment will  in  the  course  of  six  months  place 
him  in  a  position  where  he  can  see  what  is  the 
right  side  in  these  matters.  Think  how  much 
stronger  we  shall  be  if  we  take  a  man  of  that 
kind,  and  afterwards  his  decisions  and  rulings  are 
such  as  to  treat  us  fairly." 

"What  do  you  mean  by  treating  us  fairly?" 
asked  Mr.  Polworth  excitedly.  "  What  the  pub- 
lic calls  fairly  ?  What  the  newspapers  call  fairly  ? 
I,  for  one,  I  say  with  Mr.  Variderbilt,  d — n  the 
public." 

"Yes,"  said  Gardwell,  "but  we  don't  say  it  out 
loud." 

"I  do,  Mr.  Gardwell,  I  say  it  out  loud,  and  I 
say  it  in  German,  and  I  say  it  in  English  and 
French,  too.  I  speak  French,  and  I  say  it  in 
French.  I  have  got  three  hundred  men  working 
in  one  of  my  plants  here,  and  they  are  each  get- 
ting a  dollar  and  a  quarter  a  day,  and  now  they 


126  THE  FEDERAL   JUDGE 

have  the  nerve  to  appoint  a  committee  and  come 
and  wait  on  me,  and  want  to  know  if  I  won't  give 
them  a  dollar  and  forty -five  cents  a  day,  and  I  told 
the  chairman  of  the  committee  that  I  would  see 
him  in  h — 1  first.  And  he  walked  out,  and  you 
will  probably  see  another  case  reported  where  the 
corporation  is  grinding  the  poor  workingman  to 
death.  They  say  '  d — n  Pol  worth, '  and  now  I  am 
going  to  say  '  d — n  them '  right  back.  I  don't 
believe  in  this  crawling  policy,  this  stooping  down 
and  putting  a  man  on  the  bench  that  we  are  afraid 
of.  What  if  somebody  does  say  that  a  judge,  when 
he  was  a  lawyer,  took  a  large  fee  from  a  man  that 
could  afford  to  pay  a  large  fee,  a  corporation  ?  I 
want  to  see  a  corporation  man  go  on  now,  and  fight 
it  out.  We  are  entitled  to  have  a  corporation  man 
on  the  bench  now.  I  am  willing  to  fight  it  out 
now  with  these  fellows." 

Several  gentlemen  quieted  the  excited  Mr.  Pol- 
worth,  and  Gardwell  continued :  — 

"  If  we  place  such  a  man  as  I  speak  of  on  the 
bench,  I  think  we  shall  find  it  advantageous  to  us 
all  around.  A  man  who  has  been  connected  with 
corporations  in  a  legal  capacity  has  felt  the  sting 
and  the  power  of  public  opinion,  while  other  men 
have  not.  Under  these  circumstances  the  man 
who  has  not  felt  it  is  more  apt  to  be  fearless  in 
protecting  property  and  property  interests  than 
one  who  has.  We  represent  some  little  interest 
here,"  he  said,  looking  around  him.  "Let  us 
agree  not  to  take  any  action  for,  say,  a  couple  of 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  127 

weeks,  and  then  let  us  meet  again  and  see  if  we 
have  not  found  the  right  man.  At  any  rate,  it 
will  be  wise  to  wait  until  after  the  election,"  he 
added,  with  a  smile. 

"I  yield  to  the  majority,"  said  Mr.  Polworth 
gracefully,  and  so  it  was  decided  that  the  men 
who  would  really  dictate  the  appointment  of  a 
federal  judge  were  not  to  take  any  active  steps 
towards  choosing  Judge  Frezett's  successor  until 
there  should  be  another  meeting.  It  was  also 
tacitly  understood  that  every  man  whose  name 
might  be  mentioned  as  a  possible  candidate  for  the 
position  should  be  referred  to  as  an  eminently 
proper  man  for  the  place,  as  was  the  usual  custom. 

Gardwell  went  to  his  apartments  early,  but  he 
did  not  go  to  bed.  He  liked  to  come  to  a  decision 
quickly  in  a  fight,  carefully  make  his  plans,  and 
then  follow  them  out.  So  he  paced  back  and 
forth  in  his  room  until  long  after  midnight,  turn- 
ing over  a  problem  in  his  mind,  —  turning  it  over 
and  over  again,  and  always  coming  up  to  the  same 
place,  until  finally,  shortly  before  one  o'clock,  he 
sank  into  a  chair,  and  exclaimed :  — 

"The  die  is  cast!  I  can't  be  wrong!  Judge 
Tracy  Dunn  is  the  man." 

He  knew  that  he  would  meet  with  considerable 
opposition  from  his  associates  at  first,  but  resolved 
to  go  about  the  matter  carefully  and  systemati- 
cally, having  no  doubt  that  in  the  end  he  would 
bring  them  to  his  way  of  thinking.  He  had  done 
so  for  years,  and  he  knew  no  reason  why  he  should 


128  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

fail  now.  He  resolved  to  encourage  several  candi- 
dates and  keep  them  fighting  each  other,  at  the 
same  time  preserving  the  balance  of  power,  so 
that  none  of  them  should  get  the  coveted  place. 
When  these  candidates  had  exhausted  themselves, 
it  would  be  time  to  spring  the  name  of  Judge 
Dunn,  and  before  his  name  ever  reached  the  pub- 
lic it  should  be  decided  that  he  would  receive  the 
appointment.  He  did  not  even  know  whether 
Judge  Dunn  would  accept  the  position,  and  he 
even  anticipated  some  possible  difficulty  in  getting 
his  consent.  For  that  reason  he  resolved  to  be  in 
a  position  to  offer  the  appointment  to  him  when 
he  should  first  approach  him  on  the  subject.  He 
dismissed  the  matter  from  his  mind,  having  settled 
it  to  his  own  liking,  and  for  two  weeks  hardly 
gave  it  a  thought  further  than  to  keep  an  eye  on 
the  various  candidates  and  see  that  none  of  them 
gained  too  strong  a  support. 

It  was  election  night,  and  Gardwell  sat  in  his 
office  surrounded  by  a  group  of  men  who,  like 
himself,  were  interested  in  the  results  strictly  from 
a  business  standpoint. 

Chairman  Tusher  had  kindly  made  arrange- 
ments for  forwarding  the  returns  as  fast  as  re- 
ceived at  headquarters,  and  a  squad  of  messenger 
boys  brought  dispatches  from  the  office  of  the 
"Daily  Watchman."  The  returns  were,  on  the 
whole,  very  satisfactory  to  Gardwell  and  his 
friends,  but  here  and  there  from  different  States 
and  localities  came  reports  of  reverses  which  indi- 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  129 

cated  a  change  in  popular  sentiment.  Gar  dwell 
sorted  them  out,  made  a  list,  and  then  read  them 
aloud. 

"Gentlemen,"  he  began,  "in  my  opinion,  these 
are  little  storm -clouds  which  indicate  the  approach- 
ing cyclone,"  and,  he  added  pleasantly,  "I  would 
rather  be  in  a  cyclone-cave  when  it  comes,  than 
out  in  the  open  beating  it  with  an  umbrella,  as 
my  friend  Pol  worth  seemed  so  anxious  to  do." 

"Possibly  you  overestimate  the  danger,"  said 
one  of  the  gentlemen.  "These  storm-clouds  may 
be  merely  little  wet  puffs  which  will  blow  over." 

"Possibly,"  assented  Gardwell.  "But  I  am  no 
alarmist,  and  I  don't  fear  the  storm  just  at  pres- 
ent. It  will  be  some  time  before  it  breaks  on  us. 
Still,  it  's  better  to  be  prepared  for  it  when  it  does 
come.  Hello!"  he  exclaimed,  glancing  at  a  dis- 
patch that  he  had  just  received,  "here  is  one  right 
in  our  own  State.  The  old  third  district  has  gone 
Populist." 

The  news  created  something  of  a  sensation. 

"You  don't  mean  to  say  that  Bradwell  is  beaten, 
do  you?"  exclaimed  one  of  the  gentlemen. 

"Beaten  by  a  Populist  named  Emmersburg,  or 
something  of  that  sort,"  observed  Gardwell.  "And 
beaten  badly,  too,  according  to  these  returns." 

He  picked  up  a  blue  book,  and,  glancing  hur- 
riedly over  it,  said:  "There  is  no  doubt,  gentle- 
men; these  districts  were  all  strongly  in  our  favor 
two  years  ago,  and  now  they  have  been  reversed. 
If  this  ratio  is  carried  up  through  the  district, 


130  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

Bradwell  will  be  snowed  under.  There  is  abso- 
lutely no  doubt  but  he  is  beaten.  It  was  a  mistake 
to  nominate  Bradwell,  and  I  knew  it  all  the  time. 
He  is  the  president  of  the  telephone  company  in 
Waterfurth,  and  largely  interested  in  the  street-car 
line.  That  was  enough  to  kill  him  this  year.  It 
simply  bears  out  what  I  have  been  saying." 

"It  is  a  great  surprise  to  me,"  said  one  of  the 
gentlemen.  "Bradwell  has  lived  in  the  district 
all  his  life,  and  I  know  that  two  years  ago  he  was 
one  of  the  most  popular  men  in  it.  He  has  founded 
a  public  library,  and  given  thousands  of  dollars  to 
charity.  Why,  he  is  known  as  a  philanthropist." 

"Even  a  philanthropist  nowadays,"  said  Gard- 
well,  "  will  not  pass  muster  if  he  bears  a  corpora- 
tion brand.  And  that  reminds  me  that  we  have 
not  yet  taken  any  action  in  regard  to  Judge 
Frezett's  successor.  I  have  a  man  in  view  whose 
name  has  not  been  mentioned  in  connection  with 
the  office  thus  far,  and  if  you  gentlemen,  and  sev- 
eral others  whom  I  shall  notify,  can  be  here  a 
week  from  to-night,  I  shall  be  very  glad  to  present 
his  name  to  you.  If  not  acceptable,  we  can  decide 
on  some  one  else.  I  can  assure  you  of  one  thing, 
though,  and  that  is  that  he  is  a  first-class  lawyer, 
a  man  of  unimpeachable  integrity,  and  one  whom 
no  one  can  accuse  of  having  ever  shown  any  par- 
tiality to  corporations." 

"I  wonder,"  said  Butterworth,  a  railroad  man 
who  was  walking  arm  in  arm  with  Gardwell  as  the 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  131 

party  moved  towards  the  club,  "  I  wonder  if  Judge 
Frezett  is  sitting  up  above  there  waiting  for  you 
to  come  in  and  play  whist  with  him ! " 

"I  don't  know,"  said  Gardwell;  "but  if  he  is, 
he  is  liable  to  wait  a  long  time.  I  'm  afraid  that 
after  I  die,  I  won't  be  where  I  can  sit  in  the  same 
game  with  Frezett.  Some  of  his  leads  would  make 
me  think  and  say  some  things  that  would  cause 
my  expulsion  from  the  game." 

"Gardwell,"  asked  Butterworth,  "what  made 
you  always  choose  Frezett  for  a  partner  ?  I  often 
used  to  wonder."  And  he  cast  a  sly  glance  at 
Gardwell. 

"Butterworth,"  replied  Gardwell,  "you  are  no 
spring  chicken  yourself.  You  won't  tear  under 
the  wings." 

While  Gardwell  was  to  all  appearances  in  the 
lightest  of  moods  and  the  best  of  health  at  all 
times,  he  was  morbid  with  internal  anxiety.  The 
business  complications  of  the  Trans-American  were 
growing  more  and  more  troublesome,  and  he  fore- 
saw it  would  take  all  his  efforts  to  prevent  a  crash. 
It  was  when  alone  that  he  suffered  most,  and  many 
a  night  he  had  lain  and  tossed  on  his  bed  in  wake- 
fulness  until  the  gray  light  came  in  through  the 
window. 

"Gardwell,"  his  physician  had  said,  "if  it 
was  n't  for  one  thing,  you  would  be  a  dead  man 
now." 

"And  what  is  that,  pray?"  asked  Gardwell; 
"I  am  always  looking  for  news." 


132  THE  FEDERAL   JUDGE 

"The  fact  that  you  take  one  day  of  good  solid 
rest  every  week,"  replied  the  doctor.  "If  it 
wasn't  for  that,  you  wouldn't  have  lasted  this 
long;  you  would  have  popped  off  two  years  ago." 

The  doctor  referred  to  the  fact  that  Gar  dwell 
never  went  to  his  office  or  to  the  club  on  Sundays. 


CHAPTER  XI 

THE  news  that  Robert  Emmersley  had  been 
elected  to  Congress  from  the  third  district,  cre- 
ated a  sensation  in  Bowerville,  and  it  was  a  pleas- 
ant sensation  too,  if  one  half  of  the  able-bodied 
men  of  that  city  could  be  believed.  In  fact,  from 
the  general  talk  on  the  day  after  election,  when 
the  result  became  known,  it  was  a  source  of  sur- 
prise that  Emmersley  had  not  received  the  entire 
vote  of  the  township.  And  one  wondered  how  so 
many  of  the  voters  had  made  a  mistake  and  slipped 
in  a  Bradwell  ballot  while  intending  to  vote  for 
the  young  lawyer  on  the  Populist  ticket. 

But  Judge  Dunn  was  not  of  this  crowd  of  fair- 
weather  shouters.  He  was  disgusted,  and  took  no 
pains  to  conceal  his  feelings.  The  vote  was  so 
overwhelmingly  in  Emmersley 's  favor,  that  it 
showed  a  decidedly  populistic  sentiment  in  the 
district,  and  one  that  had  been  largely  brought 
about,  the  judge  was  compelled  to  confess  to  him- 
self, by  his  own  teachings.  What  made  it  worse 
was  the  fact  that  he  had  alliejl  himself  with  the 
opposition,  and  consequently  for  the  first  time  in 
twenty  years  found  himself  with  the  minority. 

There  was  no  doubt  but  the  judge  had  lost 
greatly  in  popularity  by  reason  of  his  opposition 


134  THE   FEDERAL  JUDGE 

to  Emmersley.  It  was  known  that  he  had  for- 
merly been  a  great  friend  and  patron  of  the  young 
lawyer,  and  had  listened  with  approval  to  his  de- 
nunciation of  corporations  and  the  money  power. 
To  follow  this  up  by  openly  opposing  him,  in  fact 
campaigning  against  him,  was  a  sin  which  many 
of  the  old  farmers  could  not  forgive  and  would 
not  forget.  The  judge  had  laid  by  a  few  dollars 
for  a  rainy  day,  and  his  mental  barometer  now 
indicated  moist  weather  ahead.  It  seemed  ex- 
tremely probable  that  he  would  not  be  reflected, 
and  the  thought  that  he  had  enough  for  the  sup- 
port of  himself  and  family  for  the  rest  of  his  days 
was  a  consolation  to  him.  The  wants  of  himself 
and  family  were  few  and  simple.  And  yet  it 
chafed  him  to  think  that  in  all  probability  he 
would  soon  be  retired  from  public  life  by  the  men 
who  had  always  looked  up  to  him  and  respected 
him. 

"You  can't  always  tell  how  things  are  going  to 
turn  out,"  said  Rufus,  talking  to  Betsy  the  day 
after  election.  "Look  at  that  young  Emmersley; 
if  it  had  n't  'a'  been  for  him  a-ruiming  that  bicy- 
cle of  his'n  up  against  the  colt  when  that  fellow 
Gardwell  was  a-driving  there,  he  wouldn't  be  a 
United  States  congressman  now.  He  would  'a' 
been  along  with  the  judge,  and  they  would  'a' 
been  the  best  of  friends,  and  the  judge  would  'a' 
told  him  not  to  run  on  that  Populist  ticket,  and 
he  would  'a'  done  just  as  the  judge  told  him,  as 
he  always  uster  do." 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  135 

"Yes,  and  right  now  —  he'd  give  more,  right 
now,  for  one  of  Miss  Harriet's  little  fingers  than 
for  all  the  United  States  congressmen  put  to- 
gether," snapped  Betsy,  with  a  shake  of  her  head. 
"He  won't  come  to  no  good  end  with  his  stubborn 
ways  and  his  sinful  pride." 

"'Pears  to  me  he  is  doing  purty  well  now,"  re- 
torted Rufus,  with  a  chuckle.  "I  reckon  he  'd 
take  me  down  there  to  Washington  with  him  if  I 
wanted  to  go;  he  '11  need  a  clerk,  you  know." 

"Clerk,"  cried  Betsy,  with  a  sniff.  "You  'd 
make  a  fine  sight  a-puttering  around  the  halls  of 
Congress.  Though  I  '11  allow  Emmersley  ain't 
much  better  with  his  gangling  ways  and  his  carroty 
hair.  Did  you  vote  for  him  ?" 

"Me?"  Rufus  stammered.  "You  know  what 
party  I  belong  to." 

"I  believe  you  did,"  continued  Betsy.  "In 
fact,  I'm  sure  on  't,  the  way  you  look.  It 's  the 
same  look  that  you  've  got  the  morning  after 
you  've  been  drinking." 

"Well,  supposing  I  did?"  said  Rufus  stoutly. 
"Ain't  you  always  talking  against  corporations? 
and  ain't  the  judge?  and  ain't  I?  and  wasn't  Bob 
Emmersley  down  on  corporations?  Supposing  I 
did!" 

"Supposing  you  did,"  repeated  Betsy.  "You 
flew  right  into  the  face  of  what  the  judge  wanted, 
and  you  know  it.  'Pears  to  me  you  and  all  the 
rest  of  the  men -folks  in  this  county  ain't  got  horse 
sense ;  if  you  had,  you  would  pay  some  attention 


136  THE   FEDERAL    JUDGE 

to  what  the  judge  had  to  say.  You  've  done  purty 
well  doing  that,  hain't  you,  up  to  now?  What 
do  you  want  to  change  for?  " 

"What's  this?"  exclaimed  the  judge,  coming 
around  the  corner  of  the  house  at  that  moment, 
for  this  conversation  had  taken  place  in  the  back 
yard.  "Are  you  and  Rufus  quarreling  over  poli- 
tics, too?  I  didn't  know  it  had  got  as  bad  as 
that,  for  the  Lord  knows  it  is  bad  enough." 

"This  good-for-nothing  Rufus  has  gone  and 
voted  for  that  young  scamp  of  an  Emmersley," 
said  Betsy,  with  an  indignant  frown. 

"Well,  never  mind  if  he  did,  Betsy,"  said  the 
judge  good-naturedly.  "He  had  a  perfect  right 
to  do  so,  and  if  his  conscience  indicated  that  that 
was  the  right  course,  why  he  did  the  proper  thing." 

"I  voted  anti-corporation,  judge,"  Rufus  con- 
fessed, "but  if  I  'd  'a'  thought  you  cared  anything 
about  it,  I  wouldn't  'a'  done  it." 

"This  anti-corporation  cry,"  said  the  judge, 
"when  used  to  advance  selfish  ends,  is  just  as 
'reprehensible  as  the  corporations  and  the  money 
power  themselves.  I  can't  stand  twaddle  and 
demagogism  even  in  a  good  cause.  But  never 
mind  politics,  Rufus.  Thank  Heaven  we  are  over 
that  now,  for  a  while.  Just  hitch  up  the  old 
mare  to  the  buckboard,  and  we  will  take  a  run 
down  to  Hemlock  Lake  after  bass." 

Emmersley  wore  his  honors  very  modestly.  He 
received  the  congratulations  of  nearly  every  man, 
woman,  and  child  in  Bowerville.  He  shook  the 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  137 

hands  of  farmers  for  miles  and  miles  around  the 
town ;  he  was  serenaded  by  a  brass  band ;  he  re- 
sponded to  numerous  speeches  delivered  in  his 
honor  and  lauding  him  in  unlimited  terms,  and  he 
read  the  complimentary  notices  in  the  local  papers 
with  an  inward  feeling  that  he  was  n't  half  what 
he  was  made  out  to  be.  He  stood  it  for  two  days, 
and  then,  packing  up  his  shot-gun,  went  away  for 
a  few  days'  rest.  Sitting  in  a  duck-blind  on  a 
clear,  bright  day,  he  had  plenty  of  time  to  think 
matters  over.  After  all,  what  was  he  going  to  do 
when  he  got  to  Congress?  What  could  he  accom- 
plish? He  was  not  in  sympathy  with  the  more 
rabid  wing  of  the  Populistic  party,  he  believed  in 
a  sound  currency,  and  he  had  no  desire  to  do  away 
with  all  corporations.  He  felt  very  bitterly  towards 
Gardwell,  and  when  he  thought  of  Gar  dwell  he 
always  wound  up  with  thinking  of  Harriet.  He 
had  never  spoken  words  of  love  to  the  girl,  but  he 
had  thought  them,  from  the  days  of  his  boyhood 
up,  .and  had  grown  bolder  and  bolder  in  his 
thoughts  up  to  the  time  of  the  accident  on  the  road 
when  Gardwell  was  driving  the  colt. 

To  himself,  and  within  himself,  and  sacred  from 
other  eyes,  he  was  her  lover.  He  wanted  no  one 
else  and  cared  for  no  one  else,  and  furthermore  he 
was  of  that  class  who  are  never  disappointed  in 
life  for  the  reason  that  they  never  cease  to  hope. 
When  he  returned  to  Bowerville  he  made  it  a 
point  to  meet  Judge  Dunn. 

"Judge,"  he  said,  extending  his  hand,  "I  wish 


138  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

to  beg  your  pardon  if  I  said  anything  that  I 
shouldn't  in  the  heat  of  the  campaign." 

In  his  likes  and  dislikes,  there  always  came  a 
time  when  Judge  Dunn  burned  his  bridges  behind 
him,  and  in  this  case  he  had  already  burned  the 
bridge. 

"I  should  like  to  shake  hands  with  Robert  Em- 
mersley,"  he  said,  drawing  himself  up  pompously, 
"but  I  do  not  care  to  know  Wisconsin's  only 
Populist  congressman.  If  he  was  a  member  from 
Kansas  I  could  pardon  him."  He  turned  on  his 
heel,  and  walked  stiffly  down  the  street. 

This  was  the  first  and  the  last  time  that  Robert 
Emmersley  ever  used  profane  language. 

"The  d— d  old  fool,"  he  burst  out.  "That  will 
cost  him  his  seat  on  the  circuit  bench,  if  my  name 
is  Robert  Emmersley." 

He  ground  his  teeth  together,  but  a  moment 
later  the  tears  came  into  his  eyes.  "God  forgive 
me,"  he  cried.  "I  '11  never  put  an  obstacle  in  his 
way;  he  's  Harriet's  father.  But  that  sha'n't  help 
him,"  he  burst  out  again  in  a  few  moments.  "He 
has  probably  poisoned  her  mind  against  me,  any- 
way, and  that  is  something  I  can  never  forgive." 

Poor  fellow!  he  was  torn  by  contending  emo- 
tions, and  it  is  probable  that  not  a  defeated  candi- 
date from  one  end  of  the  world  to  the  other  was 
half  as  miserable  as  this  young  lawyer  who  was 
going  to  Congress  from  the  old  third  district. 


CHAPTER  XII 

WHEN  Elliot  Gardwell  was  ready  to  act,  he 
always  did  so  with  a  decision  and  force  that  car- 
ried him  through  to  victory  with  a  rush.  There 
was  no  exception  when  he  submitted  the  name  of 
Judge  Dunn  as  successor  to  Judge  Frezett. 
Nearly  all  of  the  gentlemen  present  expressed  sur- 
prise, and  several  of  them  entered  mild  protests. 

"Is  this  the  same  judge  you  were  telling  us 
about  in  the  club  a  year  ago?"  asked  one  of  the 
gentlemen.  "You  described  him  then  as  a  regu- 
lar Populist  himself,  —  a  man  who  was  down  on 
corporations,  and  who  held  them  guilty  of  all  the 
crimes  on  the  calendar." 

"The  same,"  said  Gardwell  quietly. 

"Then  why  do  you  pick  him  out?"  asked  the 
gentleman,  in  some  surprise.  "A  pretty  mess 
he  '11  make  of  some  things  that  are  coming  up  in 
the  federal  court  here." 

"I  believe  I  am  as  much  interested  as  any  one 
in  the  things  that  are  coming  up  in  this  court," 
said  Gardwell,  looking  around  the  room.  No  one 
disputed  the  assertion,  and  he  continued:  "I  have 
picked  him  out  because,  first  of  all,  he  is  a  strong 
man;  in  the  second  place,  because  he  is  a  good 
lawyer ;  but  the  main  point  in  his  favor  is  that  he 


140  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

is  fearless,  and  will  dare  to  do,  under  any  circum- 
stances, what  he  thinks  is  right.  I  am  a  great 
believer  in  what  may  be  called  the  hypnotic  force 
of  environment.  To  be  plain:  Judge  Dunn  in 
Bowerville  will  not  be  the  same  man  as  Judge 
Dunn  in  Malton,  after  a  residence  here  of  several 
months.  What  we  want  is  a  man  who  doesn't 
care  a  snap  for  precedent,  but  who  will  follow  the 
dictates  of  his  conscience,  and  do  what  he  thinks 
is  right.  I  can  pledge  you,  gentlemen,  that  that 
is  the  kind  of  a  man  Judge  Dunn  is.  Let  him 
once  make  up  his  mind,  and  no  power  on  earth 
can  swerve  him.  That  is  the  kind  of  a  man  I 
want  to  tie  to,  and  I  think  I  have  found  him  in 
the  person  of  Judge  Tracy  Dunn." 

"Will  you  file  an  indemnity  bond  for  your 
judge?"  asked  one  of  the  gentlemen,  laughing. 

"I  will  pay  my  share  of  the  losses,  — I  '11  guar- 
antee you  that,"  he  said,  in  reply.  "But  I  simply 
give  you  my  judgment  in  the  matter.  If  any  of 
you  have  other  names  to  submit,  I  shall  be  pleased 
to  hear  them,  and  we  will  discuss  them." 

There  were  men  in  the  conference  who  had  the 
utmost  faith  in  Gard well's  judgment,  and  they 
came  to  his  support,  with  the  ultimate  result  that 
it  was  practically  decided,  then  and  there,  that 
Judge  Dunn  was  to  be  the  successor  of  Judge 
Frezett  on  the  federal  bench. 

But  it  required  all  of  Gard  well's  generalship 
and  wonderful  knowledge  of  men  and  character  to 
carry  his  candidate  through.  Cartwright,  a  lead- 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  141 

ing  lawyer,  had  secured  a  strong  political  support 
and  was  being  pushed  by  some  corporations  which 
had  not  been  taken  into  the  councils  of  Gardwell 
and  his  associates.  On  the  other  hand,  such  had 
been  the  corporation  connections  of  this  lawyer 
that  none  of  them  dared  to  oppose  him  openly. 
But  Gardwell  had  many  a  string  to  pull  and  many 
a  button  to  touch.  He  placed  himself  in  commu- 
nication with  his  Eastern  allies,  and  before  three 
days  had  elapsed  he  had  received  positive  assur- 
ance that  as  soon  as  he  gave  the  word,  Judge 
Dunn  would  be  named  to  fill  the  vacancy.  In  the 
meantime  documentary  evidence  bearing  this  out 
was  on  its  way  to  him. 

About  this  time  the  daily  papers  began  to  hint 
mysteriously  of  a  "dark  horse"  that  was  coming 
to  the  front  in  the  race  for  the  vacant  judgeship. 
To  the  reporters,  Gardwell  laughed  at  the  rumors 
of  a  dark  horse,  and  stoutly  insisted  that  Cart- 
wright  would  be  named,  which  speedily  bore  fruit 
in  the  announcement  that  Elliot  Gardwell  was  sup- 
porting a  corporation  lawyer,  —  a  statement  which 
he  did  not  take  the  pains  to  deny. 

The  clock  in  Judge  Dunn's  butterfly  study  had 
just  struck  nine,  and  the  judge  was  thinking  of 
taking  his  lamp  and  going  to  bed,  when  he  heard 
a  knock  at  the  front  door.  He  picked  up  the 
lamp,  and  went  down.  As  he  opened  the  door,  a 
man  standing  on  the  porch  stepped  in,  and  said :  — 

"Good-evening,  judge.  My  name  is  Tusher, 
John  Tusher,  chairman  of  the  State  Central  Com- 
mittee. Judge,  do  you  remember  me?" 


142  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

"  Why,  certainly  I  do,"  replied  the  judge ;  uwalk 
in.  What  brings  you  here  at  this  time  of  night?" 

"Important  business,"  said  Mr.  Tusher  pom- 
pously; "and  I  think  when  you  hear  the  nature  of 
my  errand  you  will  pardon  me  for  calling  at  this 
late  hour." 

The  two  men  went  up  to  the  butterfly  study; 
and  when  Mr.  Tusher  had  settled  himself  in  a 
chair  and  recovered  his  breath,  for  he  was  slightly 
winded  by  reason  of  his  haste,  he  fell  at  once  to 
business. 

"Judge  Dunn,  I  come  to  offer  you  the  place  on 
the  federal  bench  made  vacant  by  the  death  of 
the  late -lamented  Judge  Frezett." 

The  judge  looked  searchingly  at  Mr.  Tusher, 
and  resolved  to  himself  that  if  the  chairman  of  the 
State  Central  Committee  showed  any  further  signs 
of  insanity,  he  would  throw  himself  upon  him, 
overpower  him,  and  call  for  Rufus  to  bring  a  rope, 
in  order  that  he  might  be  bound  and  placed  in  safe 
quarters. 

"We  cannot  take  No  for  an  answer,"  continued 
Mr.  Tusher  impressively,  "and  I  expect  to  be 
back  in  Malton  by  to-morrow  morning,  authorized 
to  accept  the  place  in  your  behalf." 

The  judge  decided  that  perhaps  it  would  be  the 
better  course  to  humor  the  unfortunate  Mr.  Tusher 
in  his  hallucinations. 

"And  who  was  it  that  sent  you  to  me,  with  the 
offer  of  this  position?"  quietly  asked  the  judge. 

"The  people  of  our  great  commonwealth,  repre- 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  143 

sented  by  the  grand  old  party  to  which  we  belong, 
have  sent  me,"  declaimed  Tusher,  as  if  he  were 
addressing  a  state  convention.  "From  the  State 
and  from  the  nation  I  come." 

"It  is  a  very  high  judicial  position,  and  one  that 
I  do  not  feel  competent  to  fill,"  said  the  judge,  to 
gain  time.  "  This  Tusher  always  was  a  little 
queer,"  he  thought. 

"Tut,  tut!  Judge  Frezett  was  no  lawyer  at 
all." 

The  judge  thought  that  he  saw  signs  of  return- 
ing sanity  in  this  observation.  But  the  illusion 
was  speedily  dispelled  when  Tusher  again  spoke. 

"The  matter  has  been  worked  very  quietly,  for 
fear  the  corporation  influences  in  the  party  might 
discover  the  move.  The  fact  is,  they  are  bending 
every  energy  to  get  Cartwright  in,  and  his  corpora- 
tion affiliations  are  so  pronounced  that  the  party 
cannot  afford  to  let  him  get  there.  Do  you  fol- 
low me?" 

"Closely,"  said  the  judge. 

"Well,"  ejaculated  Tusher,  pausing  for  breath 
again,  "  what  is  your  answer  ?" 

"This  is  rather  sudden.  I  cannot  say  that  I 
would  refuse  such  a  place  if  it  was  offered  me, 
but  I  cannot  consent  to  become  a  candidate,  and 
under  the  circumstances  " 

"Enough!"  interrupted  Tusher,  rising,  and 
buttoning  up  his  light  overcoat,  and  reaching  for 
his  hat.  "The  matter  is  settled;  I  understand 
you  perfectly.  Allow  me  to  be  the  first  to  extend 


144  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

my  congratulations,"  and  grasping  the  judge's 
hand  with  both  his  own,  he  shook  it  warmly.  He 
started  to  the  door,  saying :  — 

"Never  mind  coming  down  with  the  light. 
Don't  say  a  word  to  any  one  about  my  visit.  I 
have  a  rig  outside,  and  will  drive  to  the  junction 
and  catch  the  midnight  train  for  the  city.  Good- 
night, judge." 

"Well,  I  declare!"  gasped  the  judge,  sinking 
into  a  chair,  and  gazing  blankly  around  at  his  be- 
loved butterflies.  "Am  I  dreaming?  No;  that 
was  Tusher.  Poor  fellow ;  the  campaign  has  been 
too  much  for  him.  But  I  ought  to  have  kept  him. 
He  '11  do  himself  some  harm,  or  make  the  party 
ridiculous." 

He  bolted  downstairs  and  opened  the  front  door, 
only  to  hear  the  rumble  of  wheels  rapidly  growing 
fainter,  which  told  him  that  the  chairman  of  the 
State  Central  Committee  had  escaped,  and  was 
still  at  large.  He  went  upstairs  to  bed,  and  was 
soon  sound  asleep. 

When  Tusher  arrived  in  Malton  at  two  o'clock 
in  the  morning,  he  found  Elliot  Gardwell  waiting 
for  him. 

"What  is  his  decision?  "  asked  Gardwell. 

"He  accepts,"  answered  Tusher.  "He  objected 
at  first,  but  I  swung  him  around.  He  will  accept. 
I  have  his  word." 

"Good,"  exclaimed  Gardwell.  "His  word  is  as 
good  as  the  bonds  of  most  men  nowadays." 


CHAPTER  XIII 

BEGINNING  many  centuries  back,  it  was  a  favor- 
ite theme  among  the  weavers  of  tales  and  makers 
of  fables  to  describe  how  some  poor  simple  shep- 
herd or  swineherd  was  snatched  up  by  genie  hands 
and  dropped  amid  the  golden  splendor  of  a  king's 
court.  In  these  stories,  told  o'er  and  o'er  for 
centuries,  the  lucky  mortal  or  the  victim  of  mis- 
fortune, as  the  romancer  saw  fit  to  make  him,  had 
nothing  to  say  in  the  matter,  but  was  as  a  feather 
blown  by  the  winds  of  fate.  But  fact,  while  often 
serving  as  the  handmaid  of  fiction,  has  also  the 
faculty  of  playing  the  part  of  magician  and  turn- 
ing fiction  into  fact. 

And  thus  it  happened,  in  the  final  years  of  the 
nineteenth  century,  that  there  came  a  parallel  in 
fact  to  the  fiction  of  antiquity.  Gardwell  was  the 
genie.  It  was  his  hand,  unseen,  and  as  powerful 
as  that  of  the  shadowy  shape  which  obeyed  the 
behest  of  Aladdin,  that  plucked  the  plodding  coun- 
try judge  from  his  quiet  home,  and  dropped  him 
into  a  new  world,  at  a  time  of  life  when  he  had 
formed  all  the  habits  of  the  old  one  in  which  he 
had  lived  for  more  than  half  a  century.  And 
never  did  the  vivid  imagination  of  an  Arabian 
story-teller  conceive  a  fable  in  which  the  mortal 


146  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

was  more  helpless,  or  less  able  to  direct  the  course 
of  events  which  governed  him,  than  was  Judge 
Tracy  Dunn. 

When  once  his  plans  were  working,  Gardwell 
was  not  the  man  to  rest  until  they  were  consum- 
mated. Tusher's  assurance  that  Judge  Dunn  would 
accept  the  place  was  all  he  wanted,  and  it  was  only 
a  few  days  before  it  was  settled ;  for  the  red  tape 
of  government  procedure  runs  smoothly  enough 
when  reeled  off  by  the  combined  forces  of  political 
and  corporation  influence. 

"Here,"  said  the  telegraph  editor,  walking  up 
to  the  city  editor's  desk,  and  handing  him  a  dis- 
patch, —  "here  is  a  wire  from  Washington  that 
will  put  a  crimp  in  Gardwell.  You  had  better 
send  a  man  over  to  see  him.  He  's  too  foxy  to 
say  much,  but  he  may  talk  a  little." 

"Judge  Dunn,  of  Bowerville!"  exclaimed  the 
city  editor.  "I  know  him.  He  's  a  gruff  old  fel- 
low, and  he  has  n't  got  any  more  use  for  corpora- 
tions than  I  have  for  bad  copy.  He  '11  shake 
things  up  when  he  steps  into  Frezett's  shoes." 

"Have  you  heard  the  news  from  Washington?" 
inquired  a  reporter  for  the  "Evening  Daybook," 
bustling  into  Gard well's  office  ten  minutes  later. 
"Frezett's  successor  has  been  named." 

"Is  that  so?"  exclaimed  Gardwell.  "Who  is 
the  lucky  man?  " 

"Judge  Tracy  Dunn,  of  Bowerville." 

"Judge  Dunn?  Oh,  yes;  I  place  him  now. 
He  's  been  on  the  circuit  bench  out  there  for  a 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  147 

good  many  years.  He  's  an  able  lawyer,  and  has 
a  high  reputation  among  the  people.  He  's  very 
popular  in  his  district." 

"The  people  in  his  district  haven't  much  use 
for  corporations,"  observed  the  reporter;  "they 
have  just  sent  a  Populist  to  Congress." 

Gardwell  laughed  pleasantly,  but  made  no  reply. 

"Something  of  a  surprise?  "  continued  the  news- 
paper man. 

"Rather,"  said  Gardwell,  again  laughing  softly. 

"What  do  you  want  to  say  about  it?"  asked 
the  reporter,  changing  his  tone. 

"Why,  nothing  that  I  know  of.  What  can  I 
say?" 

"Well,  I  have  got  to  get  something  from  you. 
I  was  assigned  to  interview  you." 

"All  right,"  replied  Gardwell.  "It  won't  be 
long.  Put  me  down  as  saying  that  while  the  ap- 
pointment is  in  the  nature  of  a  surprise  to  me,  it 
is  one  that  cannot  fail  to  give  general  satisfaction. 
Judge  Dunn  is  an  able  lawyer  and  a  man  who  has 
shown  on  the  bench  that  he  has  the  courage  of  his 
convictions.  It  is  an  appointment  which  in  itself 
shows  that  it  was  not  dictated  by  political  or  any 
other  outside  influence.  The  President  has  simply 
found  a  man  eminently  fitted  for  the  place  and  put 
him  in  it.  That's  enough,  isn't  it?  You  are  a 
pretty  good  judge  of  such  things." 

"That's  all  right,"  replied  the  reporter,  laugh- 
ing. "I  know  you  are  tickled  to  death,"  and  he 
winked  familiarly  to  the  great  man. 


148  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

"Have  a  cigar,"  said  Gardwell,  again  chuc- 
kling; "you  boys  bother  the  life  out  of  me." 

Seated  in  his  office  about  an  hour  later,  Gard- 
well had  the  pleasure  of  reading  the  announcement 
of  Judge  Dunn's  appointment,  coupled  with  the 
additional  information  that  the  judge  had  been 
bitterly  opposed  by  Elliot  Gardwell,  the  great 
corporation  man,  and  that  he  and  his  associates 
were  decidedly  downcast  over  the  outcome,  and 
fearful  for  the  future.  The  interview  was  straight 
enough;  but  tacked  on  to  it  was  a  semi-editorial 
paragraph  bringing  out  these  phases  of  the  situa- 
tion and  carrying  the  idea  that  corporations  in 
general,  and  those  represented  by  Gardwell  in 
particular,  had  received  a  severe  and  well-deserved 
set-back.  This  was  followed,  £he  next  day,  by 
more  comment  in  the  editorial  columns  of  leading 
journals,  so  that  the  great  American  public  learned, 
and  knew  beyond  a  doubt,  that  corporation  influ- 
ences had  cut  no  figure  in  the  appointment  of 
Judge  Tracy  Dunn.  And  a  certain  "Vox  Pop- 
uli,"  a  frequent  contributor  to  the  daily  press, 
wrote  a  lengthy  communication  exulting  over  the 
waning  power  of  greedy  corporations. 

"As  crazy  as  Rufus  Pease  the  day  the  judge 
got  the  appointment  "  is  a  stock  phrase  in  Bower- 
ville,  and  bids  fair  to  last  until  the  present  genera- 
tion becomes  extinct. 

It  had  been  Rufus?s  custom  for  years  to  be  at 
the  train  which  brought  the  city  dailies  to  Bower- 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  149 

ville,  and,  securing  a  newspaper  for  Judge  Dunn, 
to  scan  the  headlines  as  he  sauntered  homeward. 
During  the  campaign,  however,  and  for  some  days 
following  the  election,  he  had  taken  the  slower 
method  adopted  by  the  villagers  generally,  of  going 
to  the  post-office,  and  there  waiting  for  the  papers 
to  arrive.  The  symposium  of  political  gossip  in- 
dulged in  at  this  centre  had  a  charm  to  which 
Eufus,  with  his  garrulous  propensities,  had  easily 
yielded.  But  the  gossip  was  becoming  hackneyed, 
even  to  him,  and  on  this  particular  morning  he 
absented  himself  from  the  symposium  and  went  to 
the  train.  Two  blocks  from  the  station,  he  seated 
himself  on  Josiah  Peacock's  horse  -  block  and 
opened  the  paper.  The  first  glance  startled  him. 
He  looked  again,  and  his  mouth  opened.  Then 
he  rubbed  his  hand  across  his  eyes  and  took  an- 
other look.  That  was  enough.  Yelling  like  a 
Comanche  Indian,  and  waving  the  paper  over  his 
head,  Rufus  started  up  the  street. 

"Whoop!  Whoop!"  he  shouted,  executing  a 
pigeon  wing  in  the  air  with  every  yell  as  he  ran. 
"Whoop!  Whoop!  Picked  out  by  the  President, 
byhokey!" 

In  his  mad  career  he  encountered  several  ac- 
quaintances, some  of  whom  tried  to  intercept  him. 

"  Get  out  of  the  way !  "  he  shouted.  "  Don't  try 
to  stop  me  now!  Can't  stop  to  tell  you,  but 
you  '11  all  hear  about  it  soon  enough." 

He  bounded  through  the  front  doorway  just  as 
Harriet  opened  the  door,  for  she  had  seen  him 
coming,  and  was  somewhat  alarmed. 


150  THE    FEDERAL    JUDGE 

"Look  at  that,  Miss  Harriet,"  he  gasped. 
"Look  at  that!  just  look  at  it!  "  at  the  same  time 
thrusting  the  paper  into  her  hands. 

Harriet  looked,  and  read  in  staring  headlines: 
"Judge  Dunn  chosen!  Named  by  the  President 
to  succeed  Judge  Frezett  on  the  Federal  Bench ! 
A  Great  Surprise  and  Rebuff  for  the  Politicians." 

"Oh,  papa,  papa,"  she  cried,  starting  to  run 
upstairs.  "Oh,  papa,  you  have  been  appointed  a 
federal  judge  by  the  President." 

"Nonsense,  my  child,"  said  the  judge  coolly. 
"You  mean  my  name  has  been  mentioned.  I  have 
been  afraid  of  that  for  several  days." 

"No,"  cried  Harriet,  "you  've  been  appointed." 

"Tut,  tut,  my  dear;  young  women  know  very 
little  about  politics.  You  may  bring  the  paper  up 
to  me." 

"You  have  been  appointed,  jedge,"  put  in  Ru- 
fus  in  a  wheezy  voice.  "I  read  it  myself  on  the 
way  here,  and  I  run  all  the  way  from  the  depot." 

The  judge  smiled,  and,  reaching  over  the  ban- 
ister, took  the  paper  from  Harriet's  hands.  He 
went  back  into  the  butterfly  room  and  closed  the 
door. 

"I  guess  poor  Tusher  is  crazy,  after  all,"  mut- 
tered the  judge,  taking  a  seat.  "He  has  brought 
me  out  as  a  candidate,  and  I  will  have  no  end  of 
bother."  He  opened  the  paper  as  he  spoke,  and 
glanced  at  the  headlines. 

It  took  a  good  deal  to  startle  Judge  Dunn,  but 
when  he  read  those  headlines,  a  thrill  ran  through 
him. 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  151 

"Appointed!"  he  murmured.  "Appointed! 
What  does  this  mean? "  His  chin  dropped  to  his 
breast,  and  the  paper  fell  from  his  hands.  How 
could  it  be  possible,  he  thought,  that  he,  the  coun- 
try judge,  who  had  not  made  the  slightest  move  in 
his  own  behalf  (nor  had  any  one  else,  so  far  as  he 
knew),  how  could  it  be  possible  that  he  had  been 
named  to  a  place  on  the  federal  bench?  How 
could  he  reconcile  this  with  the  fact,  and  he  be- 
lieved it  to  be  a  fact,  that  these  appointments  were 
usually  dictated  by  political  influences  or  the  money 
power?  And  yet  how  well  he  knew  that  such  was 
not  the  case  in  this  instance.  Would  the  public 
believe  otherwise?  Was  he  dreaming?  Was  he 
losing  his  mind?  He  roused  himself,  and  picking 
up  the  paper  read  the  account  from  beginning  to 
end. 

It  started  off  with  the  plain  announcement  that 
Judge  Tracy  Dunn,  of  Bowerville  (it  certainly  could 
mean  no  one  but  him),  had  been  appointed  a  judge 
of  the  federal  court,  to  succeed  Judge  Frezett. 
It  was  stated  in  unmistakable  terms  that  the  ap- 
pointment was  not  dictated  in  any  way  by  politi- 
cians; and  so  far  from  being  influenced  by  corpo- 
rations, it  was,  on  the  other  hand,  asserted  that  the 
power  of  several  of  the  largest,  including  those  with 
which  Elliot  Gardwell  was  associated,  had  been 
used  in  strongly  urging  the  claims  of  Cartwright. 

His  fearless  attitude  as  judge  of  the  circuit  court 
of  Stallworth  County  was  dilated  upon,  and  it  was 
pointed  out  that  he  had  always  been  known  as  a 


152        <  THE    FEDERAL   JUDGE 

strong  anti-corporation  man.  Then  followed  an 
interview  with  Chairman  Tusher,  in  which  that 
worthy  declared  that  he  alone  in  all  the  State  had 
known  for  several  weeks  that  Judge  Dunn  would 
be  named. 

"In  fact,"  said  Chairman  Tusher  in  the  inter- 
view, "I  myself  was  commissioned  to  visit  Judge 
Dunn  and  ascertain  from  him  if  he  would  accept 
the  appointment.  He  was  much  disinclined,  at 
first,  to  leave  his  quiet  country  home,  where  he  is 
revered  and  respected  by  every  one;  but  upon  my 
finally  explaining  to  him  that  I  came  almost  di- 
rectly from  the  President,  and  that  the  public  wel- 
fare demanded  that  he  accept  the  position,  he  re- 
luctantly agreed  to  do  so  in  the  event  of  his  being 
named.  But  so  high  an  idea  had  he  of  the  sacred- 
ness  of  the  trust  that  he  declared  that  in  case  his 
name  was  even  mentioned  as  a  candidate,  he  would 
at  once  announce  that  he  would  not  accept  the 
appointment.  Under  these  circumstances,  and 
without  one  particle  of  wire-pulling  or  lobbying  in 
his  behalf,  he  was  selected  by  the  President  to  fill 
the  vacancy.  And  the  hardest  part  of  it  all,"  said 
Chairman  Tusher,  "was  getting  Judge  Dunn  to 
accept  the  place  if  it  was  even  tendered  him.  I 
flatter  myself  that  I  deserve  no  small  credit  in 
securing  such  an  ornament  to  the  bench." 

The  article  concluded  by  announcing  that  the 
judge  would  take  the  oath  of  office  in  two  weeks 
from  that  date,  and  that  he  would  at  once  remove 
to  the  city  with  his  family. 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  ,       153 

"Well!  "  exclaimed  the  judge,  tossing  the  paper 
aside,  "I  don't  seem  to  have  very  much  to  say  in 
this  matter  sa  far  as  I  can  make  out.  A  judge  of 
the  federal  bench!"  He  jumped  up  and  threw 
back  his  massive  shoulders,  while  a  light  came 
into  his  eyes.  "  God  knows  I  have  tried  to  do  my 
duty,  and  perhaps,  after  all,  it  pays  even  in  these 
days." 

Just  at  this  instant  Mrs.  Dunn  slipped  into  the 
room. 

"Why,  Tracy,  what  is  all  this  about?"  she 
asked. 

The  old  judge  turned  quickly,  and,  drawing  the 
little  woman  to  his  breast,  whispered,  as  he  threw 
his  arm  around  her  and  kissed  her :  — 

"It  means,  my  dear,  that  I  have  come  to  my 
reward." 

The  next  two  weeks  passed  very  rapidly  to 
Judge  Dunn  and  the  family,  including  Rufus  and 
Betsy.  The  more  he  got  into  it,  the  more  the 
judge  felt  convinced  that  he  had  achieved  the  am- 
bition of  his  life.  Mrs.  Dunn  was  quiet,  and  had 
very  little  to  say.  Harriet  was  enthusiastic  over 
the  prospect  of  moving  to  the  city  and  at  the  same 
time  seeing  her  father  become  one  of  the  leading 
jurists.  After  several  family  councils,  it  was 
finally  decided  that  for  the  present  Harriet  and 
Mrs.  Dunn  should  remain  in  the  old  home  with 
Rufus  and  Betsy,  but  that  later  on,  after  the 
judge  had  made  proper  arrangements,  they  should 
all  remove  to  the  city.  Betsy  took  this  as  &  mat- 


154  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

ter  of  course;  but  Rufus  threw  up  his  hat  and 
shouted,  evidently  having  had  some  misgivings  as 
to  what  was  to  become  of  him  under  ihe  new  order 
of  things. 

The  installation  of  Judge  Dunn  into  office  was 
characterized  by  Jeffersonian  simplicity  in  all  its 
details.  The  clerk  of  the  court,  a  veteran  in  the 
service,  and  the  judge  had  made  all  arrangements 
by  letter.  He  arrived  in  the  city  on  the  morning 
of  the  day  in  which  he  was  to  assume  his  new 
duties.  He  wore  a  slouch  hat,  his  old  frock  coat, 
trousers  which  were  much  larger  in  cut  of  the  legs 
than  was  the  prevailing  city  style,  and  stout,  thick- 
soled  boots.  He  carried  an  umbrella  which  Har- 
riet, by  much  rolling,  had  reduced  to  a  reasonable 
size. 

He  knew  the  way  to  the  federal  building  very 
well;  and  ignoring  the  swarms  of  hackmen,  and 
not  deigning  even  to  board  a  street  car,  he  trudged 
unattended  over  to  the  building  which  was  to  be 
his  official  home.  He  climbed  up  two  flights  of 
stairs  and  walked  into  the  clerk's  office,  as  cool 
and  calm  as  when  he  had  stepped  from  the  train. 

"Good-morning,  your  honor,"  said  Grimsted, 
the  old  clerk,  glancing  up  from  his  huge  record, 
and  then  looking  down  again  to  finish  the  making 
of  an  entry.  "I  '11  be  ready  in  just  a  moment." 

A  few  lawyers  who  knew  the  judge  stepped  up 
and  shook  him  by  the  hand,  and  introduced  others. 
Several  reporters  introduced  themselves. 

"What  are  your  plans,  judge?"  asked  one  of 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  155 

the  latter,  a  very  young  reporter,  elbowing  himself 
forward  and  producing  a  block  of  paper.  "Have 
you  secured  a  house  yet,  and  when  is  your  family 
coming  in?  " 

"Those  arrangements  were  all  made  on  the 
day  that  I  was  appointed,"  answered  the  judge, 
laughing  pleasantly.  "I  read  about  them  in  the 
'  Morning  Watchman. ' ' 

"Oh,  you  can't  believe  anything  you  see  in  the 
'Watchman,'"  said  the  young  reporter.  "I'm 
with  the  '  Daybook. '  What  we  want  is  the  news. 
How  old  is  your  daughter,  judge?" 

Luckily  for  the  judge,  else  he  would  have  sus- 
tained the  reputation  for  gruffness  which  had  pre- 
ceded him,  the  clerk  just  then  finished  his  entry, 
and  turning  to  him  said:  "Judge,  I  am  ready  now, 
if  you  are.  I  am  at  your  service." 

"Very  well,"  replied  the  judge,  "let  us  pro- 
ceed." * 

The  oath  of  office  was  administered,  and  the 
judge,  being  duly  sworn,  ascended  to  the  bench, 
and  the  court  was  called  to  order. 

Several  lawyers  stepped  briskly  forward,  mo- 
tions were  made,  and  the  newly  installed  judge,  as 
his  predecessors  had  done  on  the  first  day,  looked 
wise  over  matters  of  which  he  really  knew  nothing, 
took  under  advisement  all  possible  cases,  and  in 
others  listened  to  the  whispered  suggestions  of  his 
veteran  assistant,  the  clerk. 

It  was  all  over  in  a  few  minutes,  and  very  little 
fuss  and  frill  there  was  to  it.  When  the  business 


156  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

had  been  disposed  of,  the  judge  retired  to  cham- 
bers, where  he  had  a  long  talk  with  the  clerk. 

Sharp  at  the  noon  hour  the  judge  arose  and 
remarked,  "  I  '11  go  to  dinner  now ;  I  will  be  back 
in  an  hour." 

"It  has  been  the  custom  here,"  observed  the 
clerk,  "  for  the  judge  to  take  two  hours  for 
luncheon." 

"One  hour  is  enough  for  any  man,"  replied  the 
judge  decisively.  "I  will  be  back  at  one  o'clock. 
I  shall  be  at  the  Hurley  House  in  case  anything 
should  come  up  demanding  my  attention." 

Grimsted  hesitated  a  moment,  and  then  spoke : 
"I  beg  your  pardon,  judge,  but  if  I  might  make 
a  suggestion,  I  would  advise  you  to  go  to  the  Vista 
to-day.  It  is  the  leading  hotel,  you  know,  and 
the  Hurley  is  only  second-class." 

"Well,  then,  I've  been  second-class  ever  since 
I  have  been  coming  to  this  city,  and  that  is  nearly 
twenty  years,"  said  the  judge.  "I  guess  I  can 
stand  it  now;  "  and  he  .walked  out. 

It  was  an  accident,  of  course,  but  when  Judge 
Dunn  stepped  out  on  to  the  street,  he  was  met  by 
EUiot  GardweU. 

"Ah,  judge,  allow  me  to  congratulate  you," 
cried  Gardwell,  extending  his  hand  and  clasping 
that  of  the  judge.  "I  intended  writing  you  a  few 
lines,  but  I  have  been  in  the  East  ever  since  your 
appointment  was  announced." 

The  judge  was  pleased  to  meet  Gardwell,  and 
he  showed  it  by  the  smile  on  his  face. 


THE  FEDERAL   JUDGE  157 

"I  am  glad  to  see  you,  Mr.  Gardwell,"  he  said. 
"It  seems  almost  like  meeting  an  old  Bowerville 
friend;  and  to  tell  the  truth,  I  felt  rather  lone- 
some and  out  of  place  this  morning.  By  the  way, 
I  want  to  thank  you  for  that  Sphinx  ligustri  which 
you  sent  me.  It  was  a  magnificent  specimen." 

"Come,"  said  Gardwell,  —  "come  to  lunch  with 
me,  and  we  will  talk  butterflies.  Just  what  I  've 
been  wanting  to  do  for  I  don't  know  how  long. 
It  takes  my  mind  from  business." 

The  judge  hesitated,  for  the  thought  flashed 
into  his  mind,  What  would  the  people  think  to  see 
him  hobnobbing  with  this  great  corporation  man 
on  his  first  day  in  the  city  ?  What  if  his  old  Bow- 
erville friends  should  hear  of  it,  or,  worst  of  all, 
Congressman -elect  Emmersley  ?  How  little  did  he 
know  how  different  are  the  glasses  through  which 
country  folks  and  city  people  see  things. 

"We'll  take  a  light  lunch,"  said  GardweU, 
"for  I  have  n't  much  time  to-day.  I  must  be  back 
at  my  office  at  one  o'clock." 

Gardwell  was  too  shrewd  to  usher  his  friend  into 
the  club  on  the  first  day  of  his  arrival,  so  he  piloted 
him  into  the  Vista. 

"By  the  way,"  he  asked,  "where  are  you  stop- 
ping?" 

"No  place  in  particular,"  replied  the  judge, 
"I  did  think  of  going  to  the  Hurley  until  I  bring 
the  folks  in." 

"Oh,  that  won't  do  at  all,"  replied  Gardwell. 
"You  want  to  stop  at  the  Vista.  It 's  the  only 


158  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

place  in  town.  You  want  to  get  acquainted  here  in 
your  new  home,  and  the  Vista  is  the  place  to  do  it." 

"Are  n't  the  rates  rather  high?  "  asked  the  judge 
doubtfully.  "You  know  I  am  a  poor  man  and  an 
old-fashioned  one  at  that.  I  don't  go  very  much 
on  style." 

"It's  the  cheapest  place  in  the  city  when  all 
things  are  considered;  besides,  there  will  be  no 
trouble  about  your  getting  special  rates.  Ah,  how 
do  you  do,  Colonel  Babcock  ?  Allow  me  to  intro- 
duce you  to  Judge  Dunn.  The  judge  has  just  been 
appointed  to  the  federal  bench  here." 

"Very  happy  to  meet  you,  indeed,  judge,"  said 
Colonel  Babcock,  eying  him  sharply,  for  he  had 
been  present  at  the  council  wherein  it  was  decided 
to  place  the  judge  on  the  federal  bench. 

"Will  you  come  with  us,  colonel?"  asked 
Gardwell.  "We  are  going  up  for  luncheon." 

"Thanks;  I  don't  mind  if  I  do,"  said  the  colonel. 

The  judge  was  somewhat  surprised  at  the  extent 
of  the  luncheon,  and  he  wondered  what  a  dinner 
would  be  in  that  hotel.  Gardwell  and  the  judge 
very  quickly  fell  into  a  conversation  over  their 
fishing  trip  together  at  Hemlock  Lake. 

"You  remember  that  magnificent  muscallonge 
we  had  at  the  club  a  year  or  so  ago,  don't  you, 
colonel?  Well,  that  was  my  first  one,  and  I 
caught  it  under  the  guidance  of  Judge  Dunn." 

"Why,  I  didn't  know  that  you  and  the  judge 
had  ever  met  before,"  remarked  the  colonel,  scor- 
ing a  bull's-eye. 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  159 

"Oh,  yes,"  replied  Gardwell.  "The  judge  and 
I  are  cranks  on  the  same  topic.  We  are  butterfly 
fiends." 

"I  knew  you  were  one,"  said  the  colonel  suavely, 
ubut  I  had  no  idea  there  was  another  one  in  the 
country." 

"Yes,  indeed,"  cried  the  judge;  "there  is  an- 
other one,  and  I  had  no  idea  that  I  had  a  fellow 
worker  in  my  diversion  until  I  accidentally  found 
one  in  Mr.  Gardwell." 

This  led  to  a  discussion  of  butterflies,  and  dur- 
ing the  luncheon  the  judge  and  Gardwell  talked 
of  nothing  else.  Several  times  the  judge  apolo- 
gized to  the  colonel  and  attempted  to  direct  the 
talk  into  other  channels,  but  Gardwell  invariably 
brought  him  back  to  butterflies,  which,  to  tell  the 
truth,  he  was  not  at  all  loath  to  continue.  When 
they  went  down  into  the  lobby,  Gardwell  excused 
himself,  and,  coming  back  a  few  minutes  later,  said 
to  the  judge :  — 

"You  have  been  assigned  a  room  here,  and  I 
am  sure  you  will  find  everything  satisfactory.  It 
is  really  the  only  place  for  you  to  stop." 

"By  all  means,"  put  in  the  colonel.  "You want 
to  stop  here  and  no  place  else." 

"Very  well.  When  Mr.  Gardwell  was  out  on 
the  fishing  trip  with  me  he  trusted  to  my  judg- 
ment, and  under  the  circumstances  I  '11  let  him 
pass  judgment  on  hotels  for  me.  I  '11  confess  I 
don't  know  much  about  them."  Glancing  up  at 
the  clock  as  he  spoke,  and  noticing  that  it  was  ten 


160  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

minutes  past  one,  he  gave  a  little  start.  "  Gentle- 
men," he  said,  "you  will  have  to  excuse  me;  I 
promised  to  be  back  at  one  o'clock.  I  must  be 
moving  right  along  now;  I  had  no  idea  it  was  so 
late." 

It  annoyed  the  judge  to  know  that  he  had  failed 
to  be  punctual;  and  walking  back  to  the  federal 
building,  he  kept  up  such  a  brisk  gait  that  the 
two  gentlemen  had  hard  work  to  keep  pace  with 
him.  They  parted  at  the  corner,  and  Gardwell 
said,  as  they  bade  him  good-day :  - 

"I  shall  be  very  happy,  judge,  to  render  you 
any  service  within  my  power.  If  you  want  my 
%  help,  just  call  on  me.  Or,  better  than  that,  I  will 
volunteer  if  I  notice  anything." 

"Thank  you,  thank  you,  Mr.  Gardwell;  your 
kindness  is  appreciated." 

"Now,"  said  Gardwell,  slipping  his  arm  into 
that  of  the  colonel,  "what  do  you  suppose  I  have 
got  to  do  right  off  ?  " 

"I  haven't  the  least  idea,  Elliot,"  answered  the 
colonel. 

"  I  have  got  to  send  four  glass  cases  filled  with 
butterflies  up  to  my  apartments,  and  fix  up  what 
is  called  a  '  butterfly  study. ' ' 

"Gardwell,"  said  the  colonel,  surveying  his 
companion  with  undisguised  admiration,  "you  are 
a  wonder.  You  made  no  mistake  when  you  picked 
out  that  country  judge  to  come  in  here.  I  didn't 
know  what  it  was,  but  I  had  faith  enough  in  you 
to  support  you  in  your  stand,  because  I  knew  that 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  161 

there  must  be  something  back  of  it.  But  who  in 
thunder  would  have  thought  it  was  butterflies!" 
and  he  laughed  heartily. 

"You  like  to  tell  a  good  story,  my  old  friend," 
said  Gardwell,  "but  don't  let  your  fondness  for 
that  lead  you  into  making  '  butterflies  '  the  basis 
for  a  joke  at  the  club.  It's  a  serious  business; 
and  if  you  value  your  own  interests,  be  careful 
how  you  touch  on  that  subject.  It  is  like  a  deli- 
cate strand  of  wire  that  oftentimes  furnishes  the 
connection  which  drives  the  most  powerful  machin- 
ery. Do  you  follow  me?  " 

"Clearly,"  answered  the  colonel.  "But  a  but- 
terfly is  indeed  a  fragile  thing  on  which  to  load  the 
destiny  of  fifty  millions  of  dollars." 

"True  enough,"  replied  Gardwell;  "but  if  there 
be  anything  in  the  theory  of  evolution,  we  had  the 
butterfly  before  we  had  the  elephant.  The  simile 
is  not  a  particularly  good  one,  but  if  we  had  not 
had  the  butterfly  we  would  not  have  the  elephant. 
Do  you  see  the  point?  " 

"It  was  a  long  jump  from  the  butterfly  to  the 
elephant,"  observed  the  colonel  dubiously.  "And 
you  must  remember,  Gardwell,  that  you  haven't 
very  much  time.  We  have  got  to  be  moving  inside 
of  a  year.  You  know  that." 

"This  is  an  age  of  progress,"  said  Gardwell, 
drawing  his  face  until  the  ridge  appeared  on  his 
forehead.  "We  know  more  about  science  and 
what-not,  and  we  know  more  about  men.  Half 
the  kings  who  have  been  tumbled  from  their 


162  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

thrones,  or  who  fell  by  assassin  hands,  would  have 
ruled  in  peace  and  triumphed  over  their  enemies 
if  they  had  studied  human  nature  more  and  the 
art  of  warfare  less." 

"You  mean,  in  plain  English,  Elliot,  that  there 
are  more  ways  than  one  to  skin  a  cat." 

"Several  ways,"  said  Gardwell  grimly. 

"Which  means  that  there  is  no  way  that  you 
don't  know.  Well,  good-by,  Gardwell,"  for  the 
two  men  had  been  standing  in  front  of  the  offices 
of  the  Trans-American  Railroad.  "I  must  be  hur- 
rying over;  I  have  an  appointment  at  2.30." 

"Kings,"  mused  the  colonel.  "He  spoke  of 
kings.  He  is  the  king  and  the  knave  rolled  into 
one.  But  in  some  games  the  queen  takes  the  king, 
and  the  knave,  too,  and  I  am  probably  the  only 
man  who  knows  the  one  weak  point  in  his  game. 
He  is  a  stanch  friend  in  fair  and  foul  weather 
if  you  are  in  the  same  boat  with  him,  but  —  Lord 
help  you  if  there  is  room  for  only  one  in  the  boat." 


CHAPTER  XIV 

THE  Yorkshire  lad  in  London  town,  the  Breton 
peasant  'mid  the  gayeties  of  Paris,  or  the  Green 
Mountain  boy  on  Broadway  for  the  first  time, 
never  felt  more  of  a  thrill  than  did  Judge  Dunn 
during  the  first  few  weeks  of  his  new  life.  Under 
other  circumstances  a  man  of  his  age  coming  to 
the  city  would  not  so  readily  have  adjusted  himself 
to  the  new  conditions ;  but  the  way  was  paved  for 
him,  and  Gardwell  was  the  smoothest  and  most 
industrious  of  pavers.  He  seemed  to  have  the 
faculty  of  turning  up  at  the  most  unexpected  mo- 
ments, in  the  most  unexpected  places,  and  at  just 
the  time  Judge  Dunn  was  really  in  need  of  some 
help.  It  was  Gardwell  who  took  him  to  the  club 
and  introduced  him  to  the  leading  business  and 
professional  men  of  the  city.  It  was  Gardwell 
who  talked  butterflies  to  him  whenever  he  felt 
lonesome.  It  was  Gardwell  who  looked  up  a 
house,  secured  it  all  furnished  at  a  remarkably 
low  rate  of  rental,  and  it  was  Gardwell  who  in  a 
hundred  and  one  little  ways  performed  services 
which  no  one  else  thought  of  and  without  which 
the  judge  would  have  been  put  to  considerable 
trouble  and  expense.  At  first  the  judge  had  been 
inclined  to  hold  a  trifle  aloof  from  his  friend;  but 


164  THE    FEDERAL   JUDGE 

he  very  soon  discovered  that  Gardwell  was  held  in 
the  highest  esteem  by  all  those  with  whom  he  came 
in  contact,  no  matter  what  their  station  in  life. 
The  editors  of  the  great  papers  which  thundered 
in  their  editorial  columns  against  corporations,  and 
sometimes  directly  at  Gardwell,  spoke  of  him  in 
the  highest  terms,  and  greeted  him  on  all  occa- 
sions with  the  utmost  affability.  A  fashionable 
minister  who  made  a  specialty  of  pleading  the 
cause  of  the  toiling  masses  in  glittering  generali- 
ties was  never  so  happy  as  when  basking  in  the 
sunshine  of  Gardwell's  smile,  and  the  judge  had 
seen  him  run  half  a  block  to  overtake  him. 

It  was  now  three  weeks  since  he  had  come  to 
the  city,  and  he  had  devoted  much  of  this  time  to 
familiarizing  himself  with  his  duties.  He  had  an 
ambition  to  achieve  distinction  in  his  new  field  of 
work;  and  as  he  had  always  been  a  close  law  stu- 
dent, extending  his  reading  far  beyond  what  was 
essential  to  his  duties  as  circuit  judge,  he  had 
little  difficulty  in  mastering  the  general  run  of  the 
work.  But  above  all,  he  desired  to  rise  above 
and  be  beyond  the  influences  which  he  felt  had  in 
many  cases  governed  the  actions  of  his  predecessor. 
His  appointment  had  come  unsolicited  on  his  part, 
and,  as  he  construed  it,  was  a  direct  reward  for 
his  fearlessness  and  independence  as  a  judge  of 
the  circuit  court.  To  be  sure,  he  found  many 
things  different  from  what  he  had  anticipated,  and 
he  had  been  compelled  to  adjust  himself  to  circum- 
stances in  many  ways.  He  had  intended  taking 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  165 

modest  quarters  until  he  could  secure  a  house,  and 
had  pictured  such  a  house  as  being  in  the  outskirts 
of  the  city,  within  easy  walking  distance  from  a 
street-car  line.  It  was  also  his  resolution  to  avoid 
the  associations  which,  in  the  case  of  Judge  Frezett 
and  other  federal  judges,  had  frequently  given 
rise  to  criticism.  But  he  soon  discovered  that  the 
office  of  federal  judge  carried  with  it,  by  an  un- 
written but  none  the  less  iron-clad  decree,  a  social 
standing  much  higher  than  he  had  dreamed  of, 
and  he  was  impressed  with  the  fact  that  the  up- 
holding of  this  social  standing  was  counted  as  one 
of  the  duties  of  the  position  and  just  as  important 
a  duty  as  were  those  of  a  purely  legal  character. 

On  several  occasions  he  had  relapsed  into  his 
old  free  and  easy  country  style,  but  the  looks  on 
the  faces  of  the  lawyers  and  others  in  the  court- 
room very  quickly  told  him  that  it  was  out  of 
place.  The  people  he  met  treated  him  with  the 
greatest  deference,  and  there  was  a  stiffness  and 
ceremony  about  it  all  which  was  very  galling  to 
a  man  of  the  judge's  character  and  bringing  up. 
And  yet  there  was  something  seductive  about  it, 
and  the  judge  found  himself  adopting  a  general 
bearing  and  manner  of  speech  which,  only  a  month 
or  so  before,  he  would  not  have  thought  himself 
capable  of.  We  are  all  of  us  more  or  less  suscep- 
tible to  the  adulation  of  our  fellow  men,  and  the 
judge  was  neither  stronger  nor  weaker  than  the 
great  majority  of  mortals.  Still,  he  made  several 
struggles  against  it,  and  really  longed  in  his  heart 


166  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

for  the  old-time  simplicity  which  permitted  him  to 
shake  hands  with  the  people  that  he  liked,  and  to 
slap  them  on  the  back  if  he  chose  to.  To  an  old 
friend  who  visited  him,  the  judge  of  a  circuit  ad- 
joining Stall  worth  County,  he  attempted  to  un- 
bosom himself,  but  the  result  was  not  what  he  had 
expected. 

"I  very  much  dislike  all  this  tomfoolery  and 
wasteful  extravagance,"  he  had  said,  glancing 
around,  for  they  were  at  that  time  taking  luncheon 
at  the  hotel ;  "  but  I  was  literally  dragged  up  here 
when  I  first  arrived.  I  have  about  made  up  my 
mind  to  move  down  to  the  Hurley." 

"You  must  do  nothing  of  the  sort,"  said  the 
country  judge.  "This  is  the  place  for  you,  and 
this  is  where  you  belong.  I  tell  you  the  judiciary 
has  a  standing  which  it  must  maintain,  and  you 
have  got  to  pay  the  penalty  now.  You  will  get 
used  to  it  quick  enough." 

"But  I  don't  want  to  get  used  to  it,"  replied 
Judge  Dunn;  "that 's  just  the  point." 

"Nonsense,"  rejoined  his  old  friend;  "Uncle 
Sam  does  n't  pay  his  judges  six  thousand  dollars 
a  year  to  enable  them  to  save  forty -five  hundred. 
When  you  are  in  Rome,  do  as  the  Romans  do. 
Take  my  advice,  and  don't  try  to  establish  any 
precedents  in  this  line." 

"Perhaps  you  are  right,"  said  the  judge,  after 
a  moment's  thought,  "but  I  tell  you,  my  old 
friend,  that  I  do  not  intend  to  follow  all  the  pre- 
cedents established  by  my  predecessors." 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  167 

"No;  and  I  don't  think  you  will,  either,"  re- 
plied his  old  neighbor,  looking  at  him  admiringly. 
"You  have  too  strong  a  will,  and  your  ideas  are 
too  pronounced  as  regards  corporations.  You  will 
never  be  a  Frezett,  Dunn." 

Left  to  himself,  the  judge's  mind,  after  all, 
would  have  followed  the  bent  of  his  real  inclina- 
tions, but  Elliot  Gardwell  was  vigilant  and  had 
no  idea  of  allowing  him  to  deviate  from  the  course 
which  he  had  marked  out.  He  had  been  at  the 
club  several  times  in  company  with  Gardwell,  and 
had  met  a  number  of  very  companionable  and 
pleasing  gentlemen,  several  of  whom  interested 
him  greatly.  In  fact,  he  had  enjoyed  these  visits 
to  the  club  more  than  anything  else  since  he  had 
come  to  the  city.  Gardwell  was  a  keen  observer, 
and,  seeing  the  good  impression  that  had  been 
made,  followed  it  up. 

"Judge,"  he  said,  one  evening  while  they  were 
seated  in  the  rotunda  of  the  hotel,  "you  must  let 
me  have  your  name  sent  into  the  club ;  you  must 
join  it  by  all  means." 

"I  hardly  think  I  belong  there,"  replied  the 
judge.  "Nearly  all  the  members  are  rich,  and  I 
am  poor.  I  really  cannot  afford  it,  anyway." 

"You  make  a  mistake,  dividing  men  into  two 
classes,  the  rich  and  the  poor,"  replied  Gardwell. 
"Besides,  we  have  members  who  are  poor,  some 
of  them  poorer  than  the  poor,  inasmuch  as  they 
owe  fifty  thousand  dollars  with  no  prospect  of  ever 
being  able  to  pay  their  indebtedness." 


168  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

"Owe  fifty  thousand  dollars  and  belong  to  a 
club  like  that!"  said  the  judge.  "How  do  they 
manage  it?  " 

"Oh,"  said  Gardwell,  "their  wives  have  a  few 
dollars  left.  But  seriously,  to  return  to  the  sub- 
ject, you  must  let  me  have  your  name  sent  in. 
I  '11  have  Judge  Jackman  propose  it.  There  is 
not  a  judge  in  the  county  who  is  not  a  member, 
and  such  a  thing  as  the  federal  judge  not  belong- 
ing to  the  club  has  never  been  thought  of.  So  far 
as  the  initiation  fee  and  the  dues  are  concerned, 
you  need  not  worry  about  that.  Why,  rather 
than  not  have  you  as  a  member,  you  would  be 
placed  on  the  honorary  list.  Several  gentlemen 
have  already  spoken  to  me  about  it,  and  asked  why 
your  name  had  not  been  posted.  As  for  your 
affording  it,  I  hardly  think  there  is  any  danger  of 
your  being  led  into  any  wild  extravagances  by  club 
life." 

"No,"  said  the  judge,  laughing.  "And  yet, 
Mr.  Gardwell,  I  cannot  see  why  I  should  join  the 
club.  The  people  I  would  meet  there  are  not  the 
class  of  people  that  I  have  been  used  to  associating 
with"- 

"No,"  interrupted  Gardwell,  "they  are  not. 
But  there  is  a  class  of  people  whom  you  will  have 
to  associate  with  in  your  new  capacity." 

"I  am  beginning  to  find  that  out,"  replied  the 
judge,  "and  yet  I  cannot  see  why  it  should  be  so." 

"The  same  rule  obtains  in  every  calling,"  was 
Gardwell' s  reply;  "even  in  the  church,  the  walks 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  169 

of  a  bishop  or  a  cardinal  lie  in  different  lines 
from  those  of  the  pastor  of  a  country  parish." 

"True  enough,"  said  the  pdge.  "But  I'll 
warrant  you  that  the  pastor  of  a  country  parish, 
suddenly  elevated  to  a  bishopric,  would  have  the 
same  feeling  that  I  have  at  present." 

"Yes,  but  the  discipline  of  the  church  and  a 
regard  for  its  traditions  would  soon  make  him  sink 
his  personal  feeling  and  bow  to  the  inevitable. 
After  all,  it  is  really  a  good  thing,  and  it  is  simply 
taking  a  worthy  advantage  of  the  frailty  of  human 
nature.  The  public  honors  and  respects  that 
which  it  envies  and  admires.  If  judges  of  the 
supreme  court  sat  in  overalls  and  workingmen's 
mitres  on  their  heads,  a  country  justice  of  the 
peace  in  topcoat  and  linen  choker  would  stand 
higher  in  the  public  esteem.  The  dignity  of  the 
bench  and  a  duty  which  you  owe  to  the  public 
demand  that  you  become  a  member  of  the  club," 
said  Gardwell  in  a  half -joking,  half -serious  way. 

"In  that  case,"  said  the  judge,  "I  will  certainly 
become  a  member,  provided  I  am  acceptable.  But 
I  insist  on  paying  the  regular  initiation  fee  and 
the  dues ;  under  those  conditions  you  may  attend 
to  the  matter." 

Several  evenings  later,  when  the  judge  went 
over  to  the  club  with  Gardwell,  he  noticed  that 
his  name  was  posted,  with  Judge  Jackman  as 
sponsor,  a  little  piece  of  tact  on  the  part  of  Gard- 
well, for  which  the  judge  felt  more  grateful  than 
the  occasion  really  demanded. 


170  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

The  judge  had  been  looking  for  a  residence  for 
himself  and  family,  but  had  met  with  very  poor 
success.  He  realized  now  that  he  had  a  social 
standing  to  maintain,  and  that  his  first  idea  of 
getting  a  modest  house  in  some  out-of-the-way 
part  of  the  city  would  never  do.  Accordingly,  he 
hunted  for  one  so  situated  that  it  would  come  up 
to  these  requirements  and  still  be  within  his  means, 
for  the  judge  had  resolved  to  save  a  certain  por- 
tion of  his  salary  each  year.  Just  as  he  had  about 
given  up  in  despair,  Gardwell  came  to  the  rescue, 
without  anything  having  been  said  by  the  judge  in 
reference  to  the  matter.  As  usual,  Gardwell  went 
directly  to  the  point. 

"I  think  I  have  found  just  the  house  for  you," 
he  said,  "and  I  know  you  are  wanting  your  wife 
and  daughter  here." 

"Why,  yes,"  replied  the  judge,  in  surprise.  "I 
have  been  looking  for  a  house,  and,  to  tell  you  the 
truth,  I  have  not  had  much  success  in  finding 
what  I  wanted." 

"Well,"  said  Gardwell,  "I  have  got  just  the 
thing,  and  it  would  n't  happen  again  in  a  lifetime. 
Marringer  is  going  to  Europe  with  his  wife ;  his 
health  is  poor,  you  know,  and  the  doctor  has  told 
him  that  he  must  remain  abroad  for  at  least  a 
year.  He  has  a  fine  residence,  and  wishes  to  rent 
it  all  furnished."  The  judge  had  seen  the  resi- 
dence. 

"Why,  I  couldn't  take  that  house,"  he  de- 
clared; "that  is  entirely  beyond  my  means." 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  171 

"I  don't  know  about  that,"  said  Gardwell.  "I 
was  talking  with  Marringer,  and  I  think  it  could 
be  had  for  a  very  reasonable  rental ;  at  any  rate, 
if  you  will  allow  me,  I  will  see  him,  and  ask 
about  it." 

"Certainly,"  replied  the  judge;  "I  would  be 
thankful  to  have  you  do  so." 

So  successful  was  Gardwell  on  this  mission,  by 
reason  of  methods  peculiar  to  himself,  that  when 
he  again  saw  the  judge  he  was  able  to  offer  him 
the  house,  completely  furnished,  at  a  remarkably 
low  figure.  In  fact,  so  cheap  was  the  rental  that 
the  judge,  used  even  as  he  was  to  country  rates, 
was  somewhat  surprised,  and  expressed  doubts 
that  were  close  to  a  suspicion  of  Gardwell  in  the 
matter.  But  Gardwell  was  glib  of  tongue,  and 
explained  with  great  detail  how  it  came  about  that 
Marringer  was  especially  anxious  to  have  him 
occupy  the  place. 

"It  is  not  every  man  who  can  have  his  house 
kept  up  by  a  federal  judge,"  he  said.  "It  is 
better  than  burglar  insurance,  you  know." 

The  judge  went  to  see  Marringer  the  next  day, 
and  engaged  the  place  for  a  year,  with  a  possibil- 
ity of  having  it  two.  Marringer  showed  him 
through  the  house,  and  it  almost  took  his  breath 
away  to  imagine  himself  and  Mrs.  Dunn,  with 
Harriet,  Betsy,  and  Eufus,  living  in  that  palatial 
mansion;  but  he  shrugged  his  shoulders,  and 
thought  to  himself,  as  he  trudged  back  to  the 
hotel :  "  Well,  I  am  in  for  it,  and  as  long  as  that 


172  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

is  part  of  the  business,  I  suppose  I  have  got  to 
keep  up  with  the  procession.  I  will  fix  up  one  of 
those  rooms  there  for  a  butterfly  study,  though, 
and  the  house  is  big  enough  so  that  I  shall  have 
some  quiet  by  myself." 

At  the  end  of  the  week,  the  judge  went  to  Bow- 
erville  for  the  first  time  since  he  had  come  to  the 
city.  He  had  written  and  received  a  letter  every 
other  day  during  that  period,  Harriet  doing  the 
writing  for  her  mother. 

The  judge  was  now  fairly  launched  on  his  new 
life  in  the  city,  and  Gardwell  hurried  away  to  the 
East,  whither  he  should  have  gone  a  week  or  so 
before.  Before  he  left,  however,  he  had  a  short 
talk  with  Colonel  Babcock. 

"You  know,  colonel,  I  make  very  few  confi- 
dants," he  said,  "and  you  are  one  of  them,  — the 
only  one  in  this  instance.  I  want  you  to  pay  a 
little  attention  to  Judge  Dunn  at  the  club.  See 
that  he  gets  into  the  right  company,  and  kind  of 
look  after  him  a  bit.  You  understand?  And 
above  all,  keep  that  fellow  Polworth  away  from 
him,  if  you  can.  He 's  in  the  formative  stage 
now,  and  I  don't  want  him  to  get  an  idea  that  we 
are  a  den  of  anarchists  over  there.  Anarchists 
and  corporation  magnates  come  in  the  same  cate- 
gory in  his  mind,  provided  they  are  not  very  mild 
types,  such  as  I  am." 

"I  understand  you  thoroughly,  Elliot,"  said  the 
colonel,  "and  I  give  you  my  assurance  that  I  will 
attend  to  the  matter  to  the  best  of  my  ability. 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  173 

You  may  depend  on  me.  But  what  am  I  to  do 
with  Pol  worth,  in  case  he  becomes  rambunctious? 
You  expect  me  to  pick  him  up  and  carry  him  out, 
or  something  of  that  kind? " 

"No,  no,"  cried  Gardwell;  "just  start  a  conver- 
sation on  architecture.  He  never  built  a  house  in 
his  life,  but  he  knows  more  about  architecture  than 
any  man  on  the  earth,  beneath  the  earth,  or  in  the 
heavens  above." 

"How  are  things  looking  in  the  East,  by  the 
way?  Have  you  heard  from  Wilier  since  yester- 
day?" asked  the  colonel. 

"No,"  replied  Gardwell,  "but  there  will  be  no 
trouble  for  some  time  to  come.  When  the  trouble 
does  come,  they  will  find  us  ready  for  them,  and 
we  will  fight  it  out  on  our  own  battle-grounds, 
you  can  depend  on  that;  and  in  that  same  connec- 
tion I  want  to  depend  a  little  on  you  now. 
Hello!"  he  exclaimed,  "it  is  only  ten  minutes  to 
train-time.  I  won't  leave  Chiopolis  until  Sunday 
night,  so  you  need  not  wire  me  in  case  anything 
comes  up  until  I  reach  New  York."  He  shook 
hands  with  the  colonel,  seized  a  small  hand-bag, 
and  was  soon  scurrying  towards  the  depot.  When 
he  had  returned  from  this  trip,  the  great  fight  of 
his  life  had  begun. 

The  judge  and  his  family  were  now  come  to  the 
city  to  stay,  and  were  settled  in  their  new  Home. 
Those  who  met  them  frequently,  and  who  formed 
the  new  circle  in  which  they  moved,  say  that  they 


174  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

were  a  charming  trio,  —  the  judge,  with  his  star- 
tling frankness,  at  times,  and  his  queer  ideas  upon 
matters  which  nobody  discussed  in  upper  circles, 
matters  which  brought  up  pictures  of  frouzy  men 
and  drabbled  women  (people  who  really  interested 
"society"  only  upon  occasions  when  the  men 
burned  freight  cars,  or  stoned  other  men  even 
more  frouzy);  Harriet  Dunn,  a  handsome  young 
woman  of  high  spirits  and  with  much  animal  life, 
who,  like  her  father,  frequently  caused  a  lifting  of 
Jin  de  siecle  eyebrows  by  the  expression  of  her 
opinions  in  a  way  quite  in  contrast  with  the  cus- 
toms of  a  social  world  which  was  arched  with  a 
silver  sky  and  encircled  with  a  golden  horizon,  — 
sky  and  horizon  being  proportioned  with  mathe- 
matical accuracy  at  a  ratio  of  sixteen  to  one;  and 
finally  Mrs.  Dunn  (now  always  spoken  of  as  Mrs. 
Judge  Tracy  Dunn),  a  small,  pale-faced  woman, 
so  quiet  and  reserved  that  she  was  soon  set  down 
as  being  the  very  essence  of  refinement,  and  who, 
having  unwillingly  gained  this  reputation,  was 
made  much  of  by  all  the  large  and  fat  women  in 
the  set  whose  width  of  palm  and  girth  of  knuckles 
told  of  past  familiarity  with  labors  more  arduoiis 
than  wielding  fans  or  holding  lorgnettes.  These 
people  scoff  at  the  idea  that  the  judge,  his  wife, 
and  his  daughter  were  not  all  three  supremely 
happy,  as  they  had  good  reason  to  be,  viewed  from 
the  generally  accepted  standpoint  for  such  obser- 
vations ;  and  many  occasions  are  recalled  on  which 
the  judge  was  brilliant,  Harriet  delightfully  viva- 


THE   FEDERAL    JUDGE  175 

cious,  and  Mrs.  Dunn  as  much  a  picture  of  quiet 
contentment  as  a  cat  purring  on  a  rug  before  a 
glowing  grate. 

Robert  Emmersley  was  now  in  Washington, 
where  he  was  attracting  some  favorable  attention, 
partly  on  account  of  his  youth  and  ability,  but 
mainly  by  reason  of  having  been  given  a  place  on 
several  rather  important  committees,  for  the  domi- 
nant party  was  not  so  secure  in  its  majority  that 
it  could  afford  to  ignore  the  representatives  of  the 
new  party  in  the  House.  Besides,  Emmersley  had 
shown  no  signs  of  being  so  virulent  a  Populist  as 
he  had  been  represented.  Harriet  saw  his  name 
in  the  papers  quite  frequently,  and  she  wondered 
if  she  would  ever  forget  him,  for,  to  tell  the  truth, 
her  first  impressions  were  so  strong  and  the  recol- 
lections of  their  past  associations  so  pleasant  that 
her  feelings  had  developed  from  what  was  friend- 
ship, and  comradeship  just  blossoming  into  love, 
into  a  love  which  grew  in  proportion  as  the  chances 
for  its  being  requited  diminished. 

There  are  some  natures  which  yearn  most  for 
the  unattainable,  and  in  which  love  thrives  best 
when  fostered  as  a  sorrow.  Of  such  is  the  king- 
dom of  spinsters;  and  how  often  it  happens  that 
those  whom  our  grandmothers  remember  as  bril- 
liant belles  in  their  day  are  the  old  maids  of  ours. 
But  Harriet  Dunn  was  not  pining  for  want  of  love 
as  yet.  She  was  a  vigorous  American  girl  ;  and 
being  possessed  of  a  form  and  face  far  above  the 
average,  in  a  set  where  the  lines  of  careful  breed- 


176  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

ing  had  had  but  few  chances  to  show  themselves, 
she  was  the  recipient  of  many  little  attentions  such 
as  fail  to  afford  pleasure  to  few  young  women  who 
exist  outside  of  story-books  written  by  members  of 
the  tea-drinking  element. 

She  had  plunged,  instead  of  waded,  into  the 
social  swim,  and  from  the  very  first  she  was  as 
much  at  home  in  it  as  though  it  were  her  natural 
element.  There  was  one  thing,  however,  which 
she  refused  to  do,  and  that  was  to  adopt  the  baby 
prattle  which  was  much  in  vogue  among  the  young 
women  of  that  period.  The  bright  things  which 
she  sometimes  said  were  her  own  and  not  culled 
from  the  witticisms  found  in  the  so-called  society 
journals,  and  she  never  asked  supremely  idiotic 
questions,  as  a  delicate  suggestion  that  she  was 
not  yet  over  three  years  of  age  in  worldly  wisdom. 
To  say  that  Harriet  Dunn  was  universally  popular 
in  her  new  world  would  not  be  true.  Many  of 
the  young  women  declared  her  to  be  "so  queer," 
and  that  she  was  "such  a  dull  thing,"  —  opinions 
which  were  readily  coincided  in  by  members  of 
the  callow  masculine  brigade,  whose  part  it  is  to 
lend  "life"  to  social  functions,  and  who  are  often 
enough  carried  home  more  dead  than  alive  after 
the  last  charge  on  the  punch-bowl. 

But  "there  are  others,"  —  even  in  society.  To 
them  she  was  a  charming  girl,  and  she  was  made 
much  of  by  many  of  the  older  gentlemen  and  some 
of  their  wives,  and  among  them  at  all  times  and 
upon  all  occasions  was  Elliot  Gardwell  —  some- 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  177 

times  in  the  background,  sometimes  the  foremost, 
but  always  there.  And  so  firmly  was  the  reputa- 
tion of  Gardwell  established  as  that  of  a  man  des- 
tined to  be  an  old  bachelor,  for  he  had  withstood 
a  bombardment  of  bright  eyes  for  years  without 
showing  a  mark,  that  not  even  the  most  audacious 
busybody  and  gossip  in  the  set  had  the  temerity  to 
regard  him  in  any  other  light  than  that  of  a  friend 
of  the  family.  So  far  as  that  reputation  was  con- 
cerned in  upper  circles,  it  was  firmly  established; 
and  the  judge,  meeting  hardly  any  one  outside  of 
this  set,  where  Elliot  Gardwell  was  looked  upon  as 
a  paragon  of  human  attainment,  had  grown  to  be 
quite  proud  of  the  fact.  How  foolish  he  was,  he 
thought,  to  have  imagined  that  all  corporation  men 
were  alike.  Because  a  majority  of  them  were  grasp- 
ing and  cruel,  waiting  at  every  opportunity  to  take 
advantage  of  the  law  and  override  the  rights  of 
their  fellow  men,  did  it  follow  that  they  were  all 
that  way?  Elliot  Gardwell  was  certainly  not  one  of 
these,  thought  the  judge.  He  had  had  many  op- 
portunities to  study  him,  had  talked  to  him  by  the 
hour,  and  had  in  every  way  sought  to  discover  in 
him  those  traits  of  character  which  he  believed 
were  developed  by  corporation  training.  He  had 
sought  by  various  little  artifices,  artifices  so  simple 
that  Gardwell  smiled  at  them,  to  bring  him  out  on 
these  points,  and  invariably  he  had  found  Gard- 
well expressing  sentiments  which  agreed  closely 
with  his  own.  He  had  failed  to  find  in  Gard well's 
character  any  trace  of  what  he  termed  the  corpora- 


178  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

tion  taint,  even  in  his  apparently  unguarded  mo- 
ments; for  he  did  not  know  that  Gardwell  was 
always  on  guard,  and  never  more  so  than  when 
masked  by  good-natured  carelessness  in  conversa- 
tion. He  returned  the  verdict  that  Elliot  Gard- 
well was  a  much  maligned  and  misunderstood  man. 
Having  once  entered  this  verdict,  he  was  not  the 
man  to  change  it  without  the  strongest  proof  to  the 
contrary. 

While  Gardwell  was  as  soft  spoken  a  man  as 
ever  wrecked  a  railroad  or  scuttled  a  corporation 
in  a  sea  of  watered  stock,  he  always  argued  in  his 
quiet,  subtle,  and  persuasive  way  that  the  end  jus- 
tified the  means,  and  that  cases  oftentimes  arose 
where  the  greatest  good  to  the  greatest  number  de- 
manded action  which  at  the  time  might  appear  to 
be  contrary  to  both  the  letter  of  the  law  and 
equity.  He  had  cited  such  cases  to  the  judge  on 
several  occasions,  and  on  looking  them  up  the 
judge  had  found  that  a  number  of  them  referred 
to  exigencies  where  receivers  had  been  appointed, 
even  when  the  petitioners  were  unable  to  show 
beyond  a  doubt  that  it  was  absolutely  necessary. 
He  smiled  to  himself  as  he  read,  and  thought  how 
impossible  it  would  be  for  him  to  ever  stretch  the 
law  to  keep  a  corporation  from  breaking. 

Gard well's  passion  for  butterflies  had  grown 
amazingly,  and  was  a  source  of  no  little  self-con- 
gratulation on  the  part  of  the  judge.  There  was 
seldom  an  evening  in  the  week,  when  the  judge 
was  at  home,  that  Gardwell  and  he  did  not  spend 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  179 

from  ten  minutes  to  three  hours'  time  in  the  but- 
terfly study.  And  on  occasions  when  Gard well's 
stay  was  to  be  very  brief,  he  always  brought  a  fine 
specimen;  for  in  fixing  up  his  butterfly  room  he 
had  taken  the  precaution  to  remove  a  hundred  of 
the  finest  specimens,  which  were  destined,  one  by 
one,  to  find  their  final  abode  in  the  judge's  study, 
and  which  that  gentleman  supposed  were  received 
by  Gardwell  from  various  parts  of  the  country. 
In  fact,  Gardwell  seldom  failed  to  have  an  inter- 
esting story  in  connection  with  the  capture  of  these 
prizes,  many  of  which  the  judge  repeated  with 
great  gusto  to  friends  who  called,  and  who  submit- 
ted to  the  butterfly  ordeal  with  much  less  grace 
than  that  exhibited  by  Gardwell. 

To  sum  it  up,  the  judge  and  Gardwell  had 
grown  to  be  stanch  friends.  And  how  could  it 
be  otherwise?  It  is  the  tiny  drops  of  water  that 
bore  a  hole  through  the  stone  without  causing 
shock  or  fracture  to  the  stone,  and  it  is  the  little 
favors,  following  day  after  day,  that  gently  tap 
upon  and  unlatch  the  doors  that  lead  to  recognition 
and  gratitude  and  sense  of  obligation,  until  finally 
the  doer  of  these  favors  finds  himself  enthroned 
high  in  the  esteem  of  the  one  who  has  received 
them.  And  thus  sat  Gardwell,  upon  a  pinnacle 
which  he  himself  had  reared  with  all  the  patience 
of  the  insect  which  builds  the  coral  reef. 

Gardwell  was  a  wonderful  man,,  not  alone  in  the 
power  which  he  wielded  over  others,  but  in  the 
control  of  himself.  He  was  an  actor,  if  ever  there 


180  THE   FEDERAL    JUDGE 

was  one;  and  while  he  gave  individual  perform- 
ances to  small  audiences,  the  world  was  his 
stage.  There  was  many  an  evening  when  he 
smiled  and  listened  to  the  judge's  rhapsodies  on 
butterflies  that  his  nerves  were  on  their  keenest 
edge,  and  there  was  a  throbbing  pain  between  his 
eyes,  —  eyes  which  perhaps  had  not  been  closed 
for  twenty -four  hours,  or  even  longer.  The  affairs 
of  the  Trans-American  Railroad  were  in  a  tangled 
condition,  and  the  tide  of  battle  had  set  in  against 
the  forces  of  which  Gardwell  was  commander  of 
the  Western  wing.  There  had  been  reverses  in 
the  East,  and  serious  ones,  which,  had  they  been 
promptly  followed  up,  could  not  have  resulted  in 
other  than  a  Waterloo  for  Gardwell  and  his  asso- 
ciates. To  conceal  his  weakness,  and  to  prepare 
for  a  final  attack  which  should  turn  defeat  into 
victory,  was  now  the  aim  of  Gardwell' s  life. 

If  Judge  Dunn  could  have  seen  the  face  of  this 
man  five  minutes  after  parting  with  him  on  most 
any  evening,  its  haggardness  would  have  shocked 
him;  or  could  he  have  looked  into  Gar d well's 
apartments  and  watched  him  pacing  back  and 
forth  until  far  into  the  night,  or  could  have  heard 
his  muttered  soliloquies,  what  he  saw  and  what  he 
heard  would  have  been  a  startling  revelation  to 
him.  Now  standing  with  clenched  fist  and  blazing 
eye,  he  was  the  personification  of  deadly  hatred 
and  pent-up  fury,  backed  by  an  iron  will.  Yet 
the  next  instant,  the  ridge  would  disappear  from 
his  forehead,  and  a  smile  settle  down  over  the 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  181 

hard,  cruel  mouth  and  shape  it  into  one  full-lipped, 
and  curved  by  amorous  thought. 

"D— n  them  all,"  he  would  hiss;  "I'll  crush 
them  yet !  What  do  I  care  for  the  cost,  or  who 
suffers?  I  '11  crush  them.  It  is  my  only  hope." 

Then  a  sudden  start,  a  tremor,  a  transformation, 
and  sinking  into  a  chair  and  burying  his  face  in 
his  hands,  he  would  groan:  "My  God!  Why  do 
I  love  her  so?" 

For  Elliot  Gardwell,  engaged  as  he  was  in  a 
gigantic  struggle  which  called  for  every  ounce  of 
energy,  and  made  demands  which  were  draining 
his  vitality,  was  at  the  same  time  in  love  with 
Harriet  Dunn.  In  the  sacred  sense  of  the  term, 
in  love  for  the  first  time  in  his  life.  He  knew  it, 
and  he  had  struggled  against  it,  with  reason  and 
with  argument,  which  always  before  had  been  con- 
vincing ;  but  fight  as  he  might  within  himself,  his 
love  for  this  pure  girl  remained  constantly,  and 
became  a  part  of  his  life,  a  part  of  himself. 

Was  this  the  only  door  that  this  strange  man 
had  left  unlocked,  or  does  Cupid  always  carry  a 
pass-key?  No  matter.  Elliot  Gardwell,  strong 
as  he  was  in  everything  else,  succumbed.  Despite 
the  warnings  and  the  danger  signals  which  reason, 
judgment,  and  experience  gave  him,  he  yielded, 
and  resolved  to  make  Harriet  Dunn  his  wife. 
And  having  taken  this  resolve,  he  had  no  doubt  of 
its  consummation,  for  he  had  never  yet  engaged 
in  an  undertaking  which  he  had  not  successfully 
carried  through. 


CHAPTER  XV 

AMONG  Judge  Dunn's  club  acquaintances  was 
Van  Tipple,  the  banker.  He  was  a  tall,  thin  man 
with  a  long,  beak -like  nose  which  glowed  out  from 
the  bristles  of  an  iron -gray  mustache  with  an  effect 
suggesting  a  lighted  asbestos-lined  gas-grate. 

"It  always  makes  me  nervous  to  look  at  Van 
Tipple,"  said  a  thoughtful  member  of  the  club  on 
one  occasion,  "for  I  am  continually  expecting  to 
see  his  mustache  burst  into  a  flame.  I  wonder 
that  it  don't  catch  fire." 

"There  is  absolutely  no  danger,"  replied  his 
companion  dryly.  "His  nose  is  an  incandescent 
light,  worked  from  a  storage  battery,  and  you 
must  remember  that  Van  Tipple's  ground  connec- 
tions are  never  of  the  best." 

Van  Tipple  did  not  belie  his  name  after  four 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  any  day,  but  the  more 
he  tippled  the  more  amiable  he  became;  and  meet- 
ing the  judge,  as  he  usually  did,  at  an  early  hour 
in  the  evening,  when  he  was  in  his  brightest  rain- 
bow period,  he  took  a  strong  fancy  to  him  and 
followed  it  up  by  constantly  paying  him  attentions. 
The  judge  had  attempted  to  escape  from  his  friend, 
whom  at  first,  to  tell  the  truth,  he  did  not  like  in 
the  least.  But  Van  Tipple  was  so  cheerfully  per- 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  183 

sistent  in  his  attentions,  and  so  calmly  impervious 
,to  the  hints  and  rebuffs  which  he  received,  that  the 
judge  finally  gave  up  in  despair  and  submitted  to 
his  courtesies  as  an  unavoidable  evil.  In  time, 
however,  he  really  grew  to  like  him,  and  was 
amused  in  studying  the  various  ways  in  which  the 
banker  sought  to  impress  upon  him  the  fact  that 
he  was  looked  upon  with  favor  by  him. 

Van  Tipple  was  rich,  and  he  pitied  Judge 
Dunn  because  he  was  poor.  He  had  once  been 
very  poor  himself,  and  very  miserable,  and  it  was 
his  natural  conclusion  that  all  people  who  were 
not  rich  were  necessarily  as  miserable  as  he  had 
been ;  so  in  a  spirit  of  condescension,  mixed  with 
sympathy,  he  sought  to  better  the  judge's  lot  by 
showing  him  a  spirit  of  comradeship.  Van  Tipple 
usually  graded  his  acquaintances  and  the  strength 
of  his  friendship  for  them  according  to  the  size  of 
their  bank  account;  so  in  making  an  exception  in 
the  case  of  Judge  Dunn,  he  was  really  straining  a 
point.  Still,  it  is  probable  he  would  not  have 
done  so  had  he  not  been  actuated  by  a  quiet  hint 
from  Gardwell. 

"My  dear  judge,"  mumbled  Van  Tipple  one 
evening,  with  more  than  his  usual  huskiness,  as  he 
seated  himself  beside  the  judge,  "Fortune  smiles 
upon  me.  I  am  the  child  of  Fortune." 

"That  is  pleasant,"  observed  the  judge.  "There 
are  a  great  many  people  who  are  not  even  the 
adopted  children,  and  others  who  are  not  so  much 
as  recognized  as  relations  at  all." 


184  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

"Judge,"  continued  Van  Tipple  solemnly,  "fifty 
thousand  dollars  is  a  nice  little  piece  of  money; 
would  you  believe  me,  that  is  simply  what  I  have 
picked  up  to-day?  Simply  one  little  deal,  and  I 
have  added  fifty  thousand  dollars  to  my  account." 

"It  is  a  fortune!"  exclaimed  the  judge,  in 
amazement;  "enough  to  last  a  man  for  a  life- 
time." 

"A  mere  bagatelle,  —  a  mere  bagatelle," 
drawled  Van  Tipple,  with  a  wave  of  his  hand. 
"If  I  were  not  so  conservative  and  in  the  banking 
business,  I  would  be  worth  a  million  more,  a  mil- 
lion of  dollars,  inside  of  the  next  three  weeks." 

"Speculation  is  a  dangerous  thing,  especially 
for  men  in  the  banking  business,"  said  the  judge 
earnestly. 

"Ah,  my  dear  judge,  do  not  misunderstand  me, 
—  do  not  misunderstand  me  for  a  moment.  There 
is  absolutely  no  speculation  in  it  at  all;  simply 
investment." 

"Yes,  but  the  elements  of  chance  have  entered 
into  it  more  or  less." 

"Not  a  particle,  my  dear  sir,  — not  a  particle. 
Every  move  that  I  make  is  made  on  information, 
coupled  with  mature  judgment." 

"Where  does  this  money  come  from  that  you 
get?"  inquired  the  judge. 

"Why,  how  do  I  know?"  replied  Van  Tipple, 
casting  a  doddering  gaze  on  the  two  judges  that 
he  saw  before  him.  "From  some  one  who  has 
got  the  money,  or  else  I  wouldn't  get  it." 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  185 

"Ah,  there  is  the  point,"  said  the  judge  sadly. 
"Much  of  it  comes  from  men  who  have  toiled  and 
labored  to  gather  it  together  and  who  have  been 
swept  into  this  vortex  of  speculative  mania." 

"No,  sir;  no,  sir,"  cried  Van  Tipple  emphati- 
cally, at  the  same  time  bringing  his  hand  down  on 
the  table.  "The  money  that  I  get  by  these  little 
flyers  of  mine  comes  from  the  money  bags  of  Wall 
Street.  It  comes  from  the  vaults  of  millionaires, 
and  not  from  the  hands  of  the  sons  of  toil." 

"If  that  is  the  case,"  said  the  judge,  "I  wish 
you  Godspeed!  and  may  success  attend  all  your 
future  efforts  in  that  line." 

He  arose  to  go,  but  Van  Tipple  laid  an  unsteady 
hand  on  his  shoulder. 

"Wait  a  minute,"  he  said,  "I  want  to  talk  to 
you." 

The  judge  frowned,  but  resumed  his  seat. 

"Judge,"  began  Van  Tipple  solemnly,  "you 
are  a  poor  man." 

"I  am  richer  than  I  ever  was  before  in  my  life," 
replied  the  judge.  "I  am  well  content." 

"Judge,"  said  Van  Tipple  after  he  had  swal- 
lowed another  glass  of  wine,  for  he  had  been  drink- 
ing steadily  during  the  conversation,  "judge,  it  is 
a  burning  shame.  I  am  going  to  look  after  you." 

The  judge  glanced  sharply  at  the  swaying  wreck 
before  him,  and  made  no  reply. 

"Judge,"  continued  Van  Tipple,  "I  'm  going  to 
take  you  in  with  me  to-morrow  on  a  good  thing 
and  a  sure  thing.  It  has  been  waiting  a  month, 


186  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

and  to-morrow  is  the  day.  I  '11  put  you  down  for 
five  thousand."  As  he  spoke,  he  fumbled  in  his 
pocket,  and  drawing  out  a  note-book,  made  a  memo- 
randum upon  it  in  a  scrawly,  unsteady  hand. 

"Excuse  me,  Mr.  Van  Tipple,"  said  the  judge 
with  much  dignity,  "but  you  are  going  a  little  too 
far.  I  do  not  care  to  engage  in  speculation  of 
any  sort." 

"Certainly  not,  certainly  not,"  replied  Van 
Tipple.  "I  wouldn't  think  of  such  a  thing.  I 
like  you,  Judge  Dunn.  We  need  more  men  like 
you  on  the  bench.  The  judiciary  is  the  bulwark 
of  the  people  and  the  sheet-iron  anchor  of  the  lib- 
erty of  the  country.  You  and  I,  judge,  you  and 
I» 

At  this  moment  Gardwell  entered  the  room,  and, 
taking  in  the  situation  at  a  glance,  came  to  the 
rescue. 

"I  have  been  looking  for  you,  judge,"  he  said; 
"we  are  half  an  hour  late  now." 

"Hello,  Gardwell!"  exclaimed  Van  Tipple,  ex- 
tending his  wavering  hand,  which  Gardwell  took 
and  held,  while  the  judge  got  out  of  his  chair  and 
came  around  the  table.  "Here  's  the  best  fellow 
in  the  world  —  Elliot  Gardwell.  Gardwell,  you  're 
the  captain  of  'em  all." 

"I'll  wait  while  you  get  your  coat  and  hat, 
judge,"  said  Gardwell,  "and  meet  you  at  the 
door." 

"Van  Tipple,"  said  Gardwell,  when  the  judge 
had  gone,  at  the  same  time  giving  him  a  look  of 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  187 

such  malignity  that  it  did  more  to  sober  him  than 
would  a  dozen  glasses  of  seltzer  and  lemon,  "Van 
Tipple,  you  're  drunk,  beastly  drunk.  You  ought 
to  go  home."  He  dropped  Van  Tipple's  hand, 
and  turning,  walked  away. 

"Drunk!  Home!"  repeated  Van  Tipple.  "I 
guess  that 's  right.  Anyway,  Gardwell's  tips  are 
usually  pretty  good.  Guess  I  will  follow  it  this 
time." 

When  Gardwell  and  the  judge  were  passing  out 
the  door,  Van  Tipple  followed  after  them,  and 
cried  out  to  the  judge,  "I  say,  judge,  is  that  all 
right?" 

"Tell  him  Yes,"  whispered  Gardwell,  "or  we 
shall  never  get  rid  of  him." 

"Yes,"  said  the  judge,  nodding,  "everything  is 
all  right,  Mr.  Van  Tipple;  good-night." 

"I  thought  so,"  mumbled  Van  Tipple,  tottering 
back  into  the  room.  "He  's  a  fine  man.  All  he 
needs  is  money,  and  he  '11  be  all  right." 

"It  is  strange,  and  at  the  same  time  sad,  to  see 
how  a  man  will  stupefy  himself  with  liquor,"  said 
the  judge,  as  he  and  Gardwell  walked  up  the 
street.  "I  knew  he  was  a  hard  drinker,  but  I 
never  saw  him  in  such  a  condition  before.  It  is 
positively  disgusting,  and  I  don't  know  what  I 
should  have  done  if  you  had  not  come  in  just  when 
you  did." 

"Van  Tipple  is  really  a  very  fine  fellow,"  said 
Gardwell,  "  and  has  a  lovely  family.  He  is  a  man 
of  excellent  judgment,  of  sterling  integrity,  and  a 


188  THE    FEDERAL    JUDGE 

more  honorable  one  I  never  knew.  You  never 
have  seen  him  during  business  hours,  have  you?  " 

"No,"  said  the  judge;  "it  has  always  been  late 
in  the  afternoon  or  early  in  the  evening." 

"  Well,  then  you  have  only  seen  his  worst  side, 
and  you  would  not  recognize  him  if  you  saw  him 
sitting  cold  as  ice  in  his  bank  office.  He  has  a 
keen  intellect  and  a  vigorous  brain  when  he  is 
sober.  But  it  cannot  last  long  under  the  strain 
of  abuse  to  which  it  is  being  subjected." 

"Why  don't  he  take  the  gold  cure?"  inquired 
the  judge. 

"Oh,"  replied  Gardwell,  with  a  laugh,  "that's 
common.  It  is  n't  fashionable,  you  know.  Rich 
men  either  drink  themselves  to  death  or  commit 
suicide.  A  Turkish  bath  and  a  champagne  cock- 
tail, coupled  with  a  good  resolution,  paint  a  rain- 
bow which  veils  the  chasm  that  lies  before  the 
drunkard,  be  he  poor  or  rich,  and  the  rainbow 
costs  money.  The  poor  man  sees  the  chasm,  — 
the  rich  one  does  not." 

"He  had  the  audacity,"  said  the  judge,  "to 
offer  to  take  me  in  with  him  on  some  of  his  specu- 
lations. He  actually  took  out  a  pad  of  paper  and 
put  me  down  for  five  thousand." 

"Did  he  write  it  down?"  asked  Gardwell  sud- 
denly, and  yet  in  an  apparently  careless  tone. 

"Yes,"  answered  the  judge;  "and  had  he  not 
been  in  liquor  as  he  was,  I  should  have  rebuked 
him.  In  fact,  even  as  it  is,  I  regret  that  I  did  not 
give  him  a  piece  of  my  mind." 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  189 

"There  are  a  good  many  men  in  this  city  who 
would  have  liked  to  have  been  in  your  place,"  said 
Gardwell.  "  Van  Tipple  has  wonderful  judgment, 
and  bases  his  operations  on  the  best  of  informa- 
tion. He  is  not  known  as  a  speculator,  but  in  the 
slang  of  the  day  is  called  a  4  sure-thing  player  ' 
by  some.  He  is  perfectly  honorable  and  straight- 
forward." 

"He  appears  to  have  some  good  qualities,"  as- 
sented the  judge,  "and  he  was  certainly  very  cour- 
teous to  me  when  I  first  came  into  the  club.  How 
much  is  he  worth  ?  " 

"  A  trifle  less  than  a  million  dollars,  but  he  is 
adding  to  it  all  the  time  by  careful  investments 
and  shrewd  speculations,  if  you  would  call  them 
such." 

"What  a  pity  it  is  not  divided  among  a  number 
of  people,"  said  the  judge  thoughtfully.  "How 
much  more  good  it  would  do." 

"  How  many  people  would  you  divide  it  among, 
judge,  may  I  ask?  " 

"Well,  say  fifty  families.  But  here  we  are  at 
home.  The  walk  has  n't  seemed  anything.  Won't 
you  step  in  a  minute?  I  have  a  new  specimen  that 
I  wish  to  show  you." 

"No,"  said  Gardwell;  "I  have  an  engagement 
farther  up  this  street,  and  must  bid  you  good- 
night." 

"Ah,"  thought  Gardwell,  as  he  walked  away 
from  the  house,  "our  country  friend  is  beginning 
to  feel  the  force  of  environments.  Two  years  ago 


190  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

he  would  have  divided  a  million  dollars  among  a 
thousand  people  and  thought  each  one  of  them 
rich." 

Van  Tipple,  through  his  confidential  broker, 
made  a  plunge  the  next  day,  and  when  he  settled 
up  in  the  evening  he  was  sixty  thousand  dollars 
to  the  good.  As  he  was  arranging  his  papers, 
preparatory  to  leaving  his  office,  he  noticed  a 
scrawl  on  a  scrap  of  note-paper.  He  picked  it  up, 
and,  glancing  at  it,  exclaimed,  "  By  Jove !  I  had 
forgotten  all  about  this.  Judge  Dunn  is  in  on 
this  deal.  He  must  have  been  the  mascot."  He 
looked  at  the  paper  again.  "Five  thousand! 
Well,  well,  let  me  see.  Six  thousand  five  hundred 
and  seventy  dollars.  Well,  that 's  not  bad  for  a 
beginner.  Well,  he  's  entitled  to  it.  I  remember 
asking  him  the  last  thing  if  it  was  all  right,  and 
he  said  it  was."  He  made  a  memorandum  on  a 
slip  of  paper  and  closed  his  desk. 

Two  days  later  Judge  Dunn  received  a  letter, 
written  on  the  letter-head  of  the  bank  of  which 
Van  Tipple  was  the  president,  setting  forth  that 
a  certain  number  of  shares  of  X  &  Y  stock  had 
been  purchased  on  his,  Judge  Tracy  Dunn's,  or- 
ders, and  that  they  had  been  closed  out  at  a  net 
profit  of  six  thousand  five  hundred  and  seventy 
dollars,  for  which  amount  there  was  a  draft  in- 
closed. 

The  judge  was  furious.  He  crumpled  the  letter 
and  the  check  in  his  hand  and  threw  them  into 
the  waste-basket. 


THE   FEDERAL    JUDGE  191 

"The  scoundrel!  "  he  muttered.  "How  does  he 
dare  seek  to  involve  me  in  such  a  transaction! 
By  the  Lord !  if  I  had  him  here  I  would  flail  the 
carpet  with  him.  Six  hundred  and  fifty-seven 
dollars !  Why,  it  is  nothing  more  nor  less  than  a 
bribe;  at  best  it  is  a  present." 

He  paced  the  floor  in  thought  for  a  few  mo- 
ments, and  then  going  to  the  waste-basket  fished 
the  check  out  again,  and  smoothing  the  wrinkles 
examined  it. 

"Six  thousand  five  hundred  and  seventy  dol- 
lars !  "  he  exclaimed.  "It  is  worse  than  I  thought. 
This  is  serious." 

He  walked  rapidly  back  and  forth  in  his  cham- 
bers, cracking  his  knuckles  and  thinking  deeply. 
A  year's  salary  made  in  a  moment.  He  thought 
of  the  tipsy  banker  at  the  club,  and  he  recalled 
every  incident  and  detail.  Perhaps,  after  all, 
Van  Tipple  meant  nothing  wrong,  but  was  simply 
following  out  what  he  considered  a  strictly  legiti- 
mate business  transaction.  Should  he  take  it? 
Could  he  take  it?  No.  Supposing  the  market 
had  gone  the  other  way,  would  he  have  had  the 
money  to  make  good  the  loss,  or  would  he  have 
made  it  good,  even  if  he  could,  considering  that 
he  had  not  for  a  moment  thought  that  he  was  en- 
tering into  any  speculation  ?  No.  He  was  not  to 
be  tempted.  He  would  return  the  check  at  once, 
return  it  personally,  and  in  case  he  found  that 
Van  Tipple  had  acted  in  good  faith  he  would  not 
be  too  harsh  with  him.  Should  he  tell  his  wife  or 


192  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

Harriet?  No.  But  he  must  tell  some  one,  con- 
sult with  some  one.  Who  else  was  there  but 
Gardwell?  He  would  tell  Gardwell.  Anything 
that  he  might  say  would  not  alter  his  determina- 
tion to  return  the  money  and  repudiate  the  entire 
deal. 

Gardwell  called  early  that  evening,  bringing 
with  him  a  magnificent  butterfly,  which  he  had 
just  received  from  Pensacola,  Florida.  He  also 
brought  a  copy  of  the  latest  book  for  Harriet. 

"Oh,  how  kind  of  you,  Mr.  Gardwell,"  said 
Harriet;  "but  you  have  very  sharp  ears.  You 
were  on  the  other  side  of  the  room,  and  there  was 
a  frightful  buzz  of  conversation  at  the  Hawkins' 
reception  when  I  told  Kate  Thorndike  that  I 
wanted  to  read  this  book.  I  know  it  was  then,  for 
that  is  the  only  time  I  have  ever  mentioned  the 
book.  But  I  really  did  want  to  read  it,  so  you 
see  I  was  probably  the  one  who  said  the  only  thing 
that  was  really  meant  during  the  evening." 

"I  don't  remember  hearing  you  say  anything 
about  it,"  replied  Gardwell.  "I  simply  had  an 
impression.  Perhaps  it  was  thought  transmis- 
sion." 

"Do  you  believe  in  that,  Mr.  Gardwell?"  asked 
Harriet,  with  a  laugh. 

"  Certainly ;  in  some  cases  I  do,  and  this  appears 
to  have  been  one  of  them." 

"When  I  was  a  little  girl,"  began  Harriet,  "I 
used  to  think  that  I  wanted  the  moon.  Supposing 
that  I  should  have  those  thoughts  again?  " 


THE   FEDERAL    JUDGE  193 

"In 'that  case,  Miss  Dunn,"  replied  Gardwell, 
with  a  bow,  "I  should  endeavor  to  get  it  for  you." 

"Harriet,"  said  the  judge,  entering  the  room 
just  at  that  moment,  "you  must  excuse  us,  but 
I  have  some  very  important  business  with  Mr. 
Gardwell.  Come  right  upstairs,  Mr.  Gardwell," 
he  continued  in  a  more  hurried  way  than  was  usual 
with  him,  which  Gardwell  immediately  noted. 
When  they  were  in  the  butterfly  study,  the  judge 
shut  the  door,  and,  turning  to  Gardwell,  said :  — 

"What  do  you  suppose  that  that  inebriated 
banker,  Van  Tipple,  has  done?  There,  sir,"  he 
said,  producing  the  check  and  holding  it  out  at 
arm's  length  from  him,  "there,  sir,  is  a  check 
which  he  has  had  the  audacity  to  mail  to  me." 

Gardwell  took  the  check,  looked  at  it  carefully, 
and,  handing  it  back  to  the  judge,  said :  — 

"Well,  it 's  good.     I  '11  tell  you  that." 

"Good!"  roared  the  judge.  "Good!  do  you 
suppose  that  is  what  I  showed  it  to  you  for?  If 
I  didn't  believe  it  was  good,  I  wouldn't  care  a 
rap  about  it.  That 's  the  point,  the  main  point. 
It  is  good.  He  has  practically  sent  me  a  present 
of  six  thousand  five  hundred  and  seventy  dollars." 

Gardwell  smiled.  "My  dear  judge,"  he  said, 
"there  is  evidently  some  misunderstanding  here. 
Van  Tipple  believes  that  he  owes  you  this  or  he 
would  not  have  sent  it  to  you.  He  is  not  the  man 
to  make  presents,  not  to  the  tune  of  six  thousand- 
dollar  checks,  at  least.  And  especially  not  to 
judges  on  the  federal  bench." 


194  THE    FEDERAL   JUDGE 

"But  what  does  he  mean?"  cried  the  judge. 
"He  offered  to  take  me  in  on  what  he  called  a 
deal,  and  I  protested  and  told  him  that  I  did  not 
care  to  go  in  with  him.  He  persisted  in  it,  and 
I  still  told  him  that  I  did  not  care  to  enter  into 
any  such  transactions." 

"  I  believe  you  told  me  he  made  a  written  memo- 
randum of  it,"  said  Gardwell. 

"He  scrawled  something  on  a  piece  of  paper." 

"Certainly,"  said  Gardwell.  "And  he  found 
the  scrawl  the  next  day  just  before  he  gave  his 
order  to  his  broker;  and  supposing  that  it  was 
from  you,  and  knowing  his  venture  to  be  perfectly 
safe,  he  put  it  in  along  with  his  own.  It  proved 
to  be  a  heavy  winner,  and  he  simply  sent  you  what 
he  believed  to  be  rightfully  yours." 

"But  supposing  it  had  gone  the  other  way?" 
queried  the  judge. 

"Well,  that  is  hardly  a  supposable  case  in  any- 
thing that  Van  Tipple  plunges  on,"  replied  Gard- 
well, with  a  smile. 

"But  supposing  it  had,"  persisted  the  judge. 

"I  can't,"  replied  Gardwell. 

"But  I  can't  keep  it,"  said  the  judge.  "I  can- 
not feel  that  it  belongs  to  me." 

"Who  does  it  belong  to,  then?  You  will  find 
that  Van  Tipple  will  never  accept  it.  I  know  the 
man  too  well." 

"And  do  you  advise  me  to  keep  this  money?  " 
asked  the  judge,  looking  hard  at  Gardwell. 

"I  don't  see  what  else  you  are  going  to  do  with 


THE   FEDERAL    JUDGE  195 

it,"  replied  Gardwell  coolly.  "It  is  a  perfectly  le- 
gitimate transaction,  as  I  look  at  it.  Here  is  a 
man  worth  in  the  neighborhood  of  a  million  of  dol- 
lars, who  wishes  to  do  a  favor  for  a  friend  who  has, 
we  '11  say,  not  a  million  of  dollars.  He  takes  him 
in  on  a  deal  which  he  knows  to  be  almost  a  cer- 
tainty, so  far  as  freedom  from  danger  of  any  loss 
is  concerned.  The  jump  in  the  market  is  perhaps 
a  great  deal  more  than  he  expected,  and  the  result 
is  that  the  friend  makes  six  thousand  dollars.  He 
does  not  make  any  less  than  he  would  otherwise 
have  made,  and  he  accordingly  sends  his  friend 
that  which  he  believes  rightfully  belongs  to  him. 
The  whole  thing  indicates  to  me  an  act  of  Provi- 
dence, you  may  say.  The  only  thing  that  you  can 
do  is  to  present  the  case,  as  you  understand  it,  to 
Van  Tipple ;  and  if  he  still  insists  that  it  belongs 
to  you,  there  is  nothing  else  to  do  but  keep  it." 

"Mr.  Gardwell,"  said  the  judge,  "six  thousand 
dollars  is  a  great  deal  of  money  to  me,  and  it 
comes  now  at  a  time  when  I  can  find  use  for  it. 
My  expenses  here  have  been  much  more  than  I  anti- 
cipated, but  I  would  rather  walk  out  into  the  street 
with  my  wife  and  child  and  earn  my  living  again 
as  a  country  lawyer,  yea,  by  the  toil  of  my  hands 
even,  than  to  add  to  my  store  one  ill-gotten  penny." 

"I  believe  you,"  cried  Gardwell,  grasping  his 
hand,  "and  I  would  be  the  last  person  to  advise 
you  to  do  anything  that  would  cause  you  a  moment 
of  regret  or  the  slightest  qualm  of  conscience." 

"Gardwell,"  said  the  judge,  deeply  moved,  "I 


196  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

believe  you,  and  I  thank  you.  I  shall  need  more 
of  your  advice  in  this  matter,  and  shall  rely  greatly 
upon  your  judgment.  At  any  rate,  I  will  see 
Van  Tipple  to-morrow." 

"Do  so,"  said  Gardwell;  "and  perhaps  by  that 
time  I  may  have  some  suggestion  to  offer." 

Arm  in  arm,  just  as  they  had  done  in  Bower- 
ville,  on  the  occasion  of  Gardwell's  first  visit  to 
the  judge's  study,  the  two  men  went  down  the 
stairs;  and  when  the  judge  wrung  Gardwell's 
hand,  bidding  him  good-night,  he  felt  that  he  had 
never  known  a  more  loyal  friend,  or  one  on  whose 
judgment  he  could  place  greater  reliance. 

"Tracy,"  began  Mrs.  Dunn  at  the  breakfast- 
table  the  next  morning,  "I  find  it  costs  a  great 
deal  more  to  keep  house  in  the  city  than  it  did  in 
Bowerville.  I  fear  I  am  a  poor  manager,  too; 
for  on  looking  up  matters,  I  find  I  am  a  hundred 
dollars  behind." 

"Don't  worry,  my  dear,"  said  the  judge.  "We 
have  certainly  got  enough  to  pull  through  on." 

"I  know,  but  it  seems  to  me  to  be  such  a  dread- 
ful waste  of  money;  and  to  tell  the  truth,  I  am 
worried  all  the  time.  The  expenses  are  constantly 
increasing.  We  seem  to  be  finding  some  new 
way  in  which  to  spend  money  every  day." 

"  We  have  moved  up  a  peg  or  so  in  the  world," 
replied  the  judge,  laughing.  "It  is  not  you  and 
Harriet  alone.  Why,  even  my  clothes  cost  more 
money  than  they  used  to." 

"I  was  thinking  of  that,  too,  papa,"  said  Har- 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  197 

riet,  "but  I  believe  it  is  money  well  spent.  You 
have  no  idea  how  distinguished  looking  you  are 
with  your  silk  hat  and  your  patent  leather  shoes. 
But  I  am  waiting  for  the  time  when  you  will  come 
out  in  your  dress  suit." 

"Well,  Harriet,  I  guess  the  time  isn't  very  far 
distant,"  observed  the  judge.  "I  notice  that  men 
a  great  deal  older  than  I  am  appear  in  evening 
dress,  and  I  fear  that  I  am  attracting  attention, 
and  will  be  considered  old-fogyish  in  sticking  to 
the  old  frock  coat." 

"Mercy!  "  interrupted  Mrs.  Dunn.  "He  won't 
know  what  to  do  with  his  hands.  He  is  bad 
enough  now." 

"Ahem!  "  coughed  the  judge.  "I  have  not  no- 
ticed that  there  are  many  Apollos  among  the  older 
generation  in  society,  so  far  as  I  've  been.  I  do 
not  remember  of  finding  a  dress  suit  in  the  inven- 
tory of  a  slaughter-house  or  a  brewery.  Your 
husband  may  have  come  a  little  later  than  some  of 
the  gentlemen  whom  I  have  met  in  our  new  set, 
but  he  didn't  have  to  come  so  far." 

"You  and  Harriet  may  like  it,"  said  Mrs. 
Dunn,  "but  I  am  free  to  confess  that  I  don't. 
You  both  take  to  it  naturally,  but  I  am  a  failure, 
and  I  know  it.  For  my  part,  I  would  rather  be 
back  in  Bowerville." 

"Well,  dear,"  said  the  judge,  "perhaps  we  shall 
some  time  go  back  there  and  live  in  the  old  place." 

"Then  you  are  not  going  to  sell  it,  papa,"  cried 
Harriet. 


198  THE    FEDERAL    JUDGE 

"No;  not  right  away,"  he  replied. 

A  somewhat  similar  conversation  was  meanwhile 
being  carried  on  in  the  kitchen,  although  it  was 
a  more  animated  one. 

"Rufus  Pease,"  said  Betsy  severely,  "you  are 
going  to  rack  and  ruin.  I  never  see  such  a  change 
in  a  man  in  all  my  born  days  as  there  's  been  in 
you.  The  Lord  knows  you  was  bad  enough  in 
Bowerville,  but  here  you  are  simply  scand'lous. 
What  do  you  expect  is  going  to  become  of  you, 
anyway?" 

"Oh,  I  '11  win  out,"  answered  Rufus;  "they  say 
I  'm  the  best  ever." 

"There  you  go  again,"  cried  Betsy,  with  a  scorn- 
ful look.  "Using  the  most  outlandish  and  hea- 
thenish slang.  Who  says  you  are  the  best  ever? 
The  best  that  ever  laid  around  and  didn't  do 
enough  to  earn  his  salt.  That 's  what  you  're  the 
best  ever.  Where  did  you  get  that  peeled  nose 
and  them  scratches  on  your  face?" 

"Oh,  I  took  a  little  spin  on  a  wheel,"  replied 
Rufus.  "But  you  bet  I  rode  the  durn  thing." 

"  Goodness  sakes  alive !  do  you  mean  to  tell  me 
that  a  man  of  your  age  has  been  getting  onto  one 
of  them  things  ?  I  should  think  you  'd  be  ashamed 
of  yourself.  But  there  is  one  consolation,  and 
that  is  that  you  will  never  dare  to  wear  them  knee 
pants.  You  would  look  like  a  wishbone  stuck 
into  a  potato.  I  wish  I  had  you  back  in  Bower- 
ville again,  I  'd  make  you  stand  around." 

"Not  me  in  Bowerville  again,"  said  Rufus  cheer- 


THE   FEDERAL    JUDGE  199 

ily;  "they  want  me  here.  Why,  I  have  had  doz- 
ens and  dozens  of  jobs  offered  me.  A  few  nights 
ago  a  fellow  offered  me  six  dollars  a  week  to  do 
nothing  else  but  just  sit  around  and  keep  the  cows 
off  the  court-house  steps." 

"Yes,  you  was  in  liquor  last  night;  I  can  tell 
by  the  way  you  come  in  and  the  way  you  look 
to-day." 

"Nothing  of  the  kind,"  retorted  Rufus  indig- 
nantly. "I  only  had  a  small  shine  on." 

"  Small  shine  on !  There  you  go  again.  Well, 
you  get  up  and  get  a  small  shine  on  the  front 
steps." 

Rufus  thought  it  wise  to  obey,  or  at  least  to 
make  a  pretense  of  doing  so.  He  went  out,  and 
was  soon  engaged  in  an  interesting  discussion  on 
sporting  topics  with  the  coachman  next  door. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

GAEDWELL  went  with  the  judge  the  next  day  to 
see  Van  Tipple,  whom  they  found  in  his  office  at 
the  bank,  but  it  was  not  the  first  time  that  day 
that  Gardwell  and  the  banker  had  seen  each  other. 

"This  is  a  double  pleasure,"  cried  Van  Tipple, 
rising  from  his  chair,  and  advancing  with  his  hand 
extended  to  the  judge,  and  then,  turning  to  Gard- 
well, "you  are  just  the  man  I  wanted  to  see;  I 
waited  for  you  at  the  club  last  evening." 

"I  am  sorry,"  said  Gardwell,  "but  I  had  an- 
other engagement." 

As  Gardwell  had  foretold,  the  judge  found  that 
the  Van  Tipple  of  the  bank  and  the  Van  Tipple 
of  the  club  were  entirely  different  persons.  The 
banker  was  so  polite  and  so  deferential  in  his  self- 
possessed  and  polished  way,  that  the  judge  was  at 
a  loss  how  to  broach  the  subject  which  was  on  his 
mind.  He  expected  that  the  banker  would  refer 
to  their  joint  speculation,  but  Van  Tipple  did  not 
show  the  least  sign  of  touching  upon  that  topic. 
The  judge  looked  appealingly  to  Gardwell;  but 
that  gentleman,  usually  so  quick  to  anticipate  his 
slightest  wish,  was  now  singularly  obtuse.  This 
could  not  last  forever,  and  the  judge  soon  realized 
that  he  must  be  the  one  to  break  the  ice. 


THE  FEDERAL   JUDGE  201 

"Mr.  Van  Tipple,"  he  began,  with  a  little 
cough,  after  a  pause  in  the  conversation  which  nei- 
ther of  the  other  two  seemed  inclined  to  break,  "  I 
have  called  upon  you  in  order  to  straighten  out  what 
appears  to  be  a  misunderstanding  on  your  part." 

Van  Tipple  looked  and  expressed  surprise. 
"Why,  I  know  of  no  misunderstanding  between 
us.  I  rather  pride  myself  on  the  fact  that  I  am 
not  much  given  to  misunderstandings." 

"I  refer,"  replied  the  judge,  uto  this  check, 
which  you  mailed  to  me."  He  reached  into  his 
pocket  and  drew  it  forth,  holding  it  between  his 
thumb  and  forefinger. 

"Why,  it  cannot  be  possible  that  there  is  any 
misunderstanding  about  that,"  said  Van  Tipple, 
with  renewed  surprise.  "I  figured  it  up  myself. 
Your  order  was  five  thousand,  I  am  certain,  for 
that  was  the  amount  on  the  memorandum  which  I 
made  at  the  club.  However,  if  there  is  any  short- 
age, I  stand  ready  to  make  it  good." 

"My  dear  sir,"  broke  forth  the  judge  with  much 
austerity,  "you  now  surely  misunderstand  me.  It 
is  not  that  the  amount  is  insufficient,  but,  on  the 
contrary,  I  do  not  feel  that  I  am  entitled  to  one 
cent  of  it,  and  I  now  return  you  your  check." 

He  leaned  forward  and  placed  it  on  the  banker's 
desk. 

"What  does  this  mean?"  cried  Van  Tipple, 
jumping  up  and  casting  an  inquiring  glance  at 
Gardwell.  "  If  you  think  there  is  anything  irregu- 
lar in  this  transaction,  please  be  more  explicit. 


202  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

This  is  the  first  time  that  my  business  methods 
have  been  questioned,  and  I  am  surprised  to  have 
it  come  from  you,  Judge  Dunn." 

"Allow  me  to  explain,"  interposed  Gardwell. 
"The  fact  is,  Van  Tipple,  the  judge  feels  that  he 
is  not  entitled  to  this  money,  and  he  desires  to 
return  it  to  you." 

"On  what  ground?  "  asked  Van  Tipple. 

"On  the  ground  that  I  had  no  desire  to  enter 
into  any  speculation,"  said  the  judge,  "and  I  did 
not  understand  that  I  was  to  engage  in  one." 

"Pardon  me,"  replied  the  banker,  "but  you 
will  do  me  a  favor  by  not  referring  to  the  invest- 
ments I  make  as  speculations.  I  am  a  banker, 
and  I  do  not  like  the  word;  much  less  would  I 
engage  in  the  practice.  I  happened  to  be  in  pos- 
session of  some  reliable  information,  when  I  met 
you,  that  evening,  at  the  club.  Purely  as  an  act 
of  friendship  and  without  any  solicitation  from 
you,  I  gave  you  an  opportunity  to  profit  by  it, 
which  was  no  great  act  of  generosity  on  my  part, 
since  by  no  chance  would  it  cost  me  anything." 

"But  I  did  not  desire  to  avail  myself  of  your 
offer,"  interrupted  the  judge,  "and  I  supposed 
that  was  understood  by  you." 

"On  the  contrary,"  replied  Van  Tipple,  "I 
made  a  written  memorandum  of  it,  and  I  also  re- 
member that  I  took  the  precaution  to  ask  you,  just 
as  you  were  leaving,  if  it  was  all  right,  and  you 
replied  that  it  was.  I  think  that  Mr.  Gardwell 
will  bear  me  out  in  that." 


•       THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  203 

"I  remember  the  question  and  the  answer," 
said  Gardwell  quietly,  "but  I  had  no  idea  what 
you  were  referring  to." 

"But  I  had,"  said  Van  Tipple,  "and  I  acted 
accordingly." 

"But  if  it  had  gone  the  other  way,"  cried  the 
judge,  "I  should  not  have  felt  under  any  obliga- 
tion to  make  good  the  loss." 

"It  could  not  go  the  other  way,"  said  Van  Tip- 
ple decisively;  "but  even  if  such  a  thing  were 
possible,  and  had  it  taken  place,  I  should  always 
have  felt  that  Judge  Dunn  owed  me  that  amount. 
A  verbal  agreement  between  gentlemen  in  the 
club,  I  have  always  considered  to  be  binding. 
However,  that  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  case 
now.  This  money  certainly  does  not  belong  to 
me,  and  if  it  does  not  belong  to  you  whom  does  it 
belong  to?  Do  you  want  me  to  take  it?" 

"I  feel  that  it  rightfully  belongs  to  you,"  replied 
the  judge  firmly. 

"  And  I,  on  the  other  hand,  feel  that  it  is  yours. 
See  here,  judge,  you  shouldn't  ask  me  to  do  a 
thing  that  you  wouldn't  do  yourself." 

"How  's  that?  "  asked  the  judge. 

"Why,  you  say  this  money  does  not  belong  to 
you,  and  feeling  that  it  does  not  you  want  me  to 
take  it.  Now  I  feel  that  it  does  not  belong  to  me, 
consequently  you  have  no  right  to  ask  me  to  take 
it.  So  far  as  I  am  concerned,  I  shall  never  change 
my  opinion  concerning  its  ownership.  If  there  is 
any  charitable  institution  to  which  you  would  like 


204  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

to  donate  it,  I  can  forward  it  for  you  without  your 
identity  being  revealed.  But  in  that  case  it  would 
be  your  gift,  and  I  would  merely  act  as  your 
agent." 

"Gentlemen,"  interrupted  Gardwell  at  this 
point,  "allow  me  to  make  a  suggestion  which  per- 
haps you  both  may  approve  of." 

"Go  ahead,"  said  Van  Tipple.  The  judge 
nodded  assent. 

"Very  well,"  said  Gardwell;  "the  suggestion 
about  a  charitable  institution  is  a  good  one,  but  I 
would  impose  certain  conditions :  that  the  princi- 
pal here  be  paid,  at  the  expiration  of  one  year,  to 
any  institution  which  you  may  mutually  agree 
upon,  provided  it  remains  at  that  time  intact,  but 
in  the  meantime  that  it  be  left  here  in  Mr.  Van 
Tipple's  hands  for  investment.  Should  it  be  lost, 
the  judge  will  be  where  he  started,  and  you,  Van 
Tipple,  will  be  nothing  out. 

"The  proceeds  from  the  investment  of  this  sum, 
if  there  be  any,  should  go  to  Judge  Dunn's  credit; 
for  I  must  confess,  from  what  I  know  of  the  cir- 
cumstances, that  the  money  rightfully  belongs  to 
him,  judged  from  a  purely  business  standpoint, 
although  he  may  not  see  it  in  that  light.  He  can- 
not conscientiously  accept  it  now,  but  in  this  way 
you  will  be  blending  charity  with  business ;  and  if 
it  is  true  that  the  Lord  looks  after  the  orphan  and 
the  widow,  they  will  be  some  six  thousand  dollars 
better  off  at  the  end  of  the  year.  Is  that  satisfac- 
tory to  you,  Van  Tipple?" 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  205 

"Certainly,"  replied  the  banker,  "though  I  do 
not  feel  that  I  have  anything  to  say  in  the  matter. 
However,  I  will  waive  that  so  far  as  to  say  that 
I  agree  to  your  proposition." 

"How  does  it  strike  you,  judge?"  inquired 
Gardwell. 

"It  would  be  a  pity  to  have  the  money  lost  in 
speculations,"  observed  the  judge.  "Wouldn't  it 
be  better  for  us  to  send  the  amount  to  some  chari- 
table institution  now?  " 

"Us!"  roared  Van  Tipple,  with  a  great  show 
of  indignation.  "Us?  Judge  Dunn,  I  have  em- 
phatically stated,  and  Mr.  Gardwell  has  borne  me 
out  in  the  opinion,  that  I  do  not  own  one  penny  of 
this  money.  It  is  yours,  and  any  business  man, 
and  I  think  I  may  add  any  judge,  would  say  that 
I  am  right.  If  you  desire  to  be  munificent  in  your 
charities  you  can  send  the  money  wherever  you 
choose.  I  would  like  to  add,  however,  that  I  am 
not  in  the  habit  of  wasting  the  funds  of  widows 
and  orphans  which  may  be  intrusted  to  my  care." 

"You  do  not  understand  me,"  protested  the 
judge,  who  was  beginning  to  waver  and  to  think 
that  perhaps  after  all  he  was  wrong.  "  But  I  do 
not  wish  to  become  involved  in  any  speculation 
—  I  beg  your  pardon  —  investment,  if  you  desire 
so  to  call  it." 

"Oh,  you  need  have  no  fear  of  that,"  said  Gard- 
well quickly.  "Van  Tipple  will  take  care  of  that, 
and  you  will  receive  a  statement  at  the  end  of  the 
year.  Pardon  me,  judge,  but  do  not  be  such  a 


206  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

stickler.  Let  Providence,  or  luck,  or  whatever 
you  may  choose  to  call  it,  decide  the  matter.  The 
Lord  moves  in  a  mysterious  way,  his  wonders  to 
perform,"  he  devoutly  added. 

The  judge  looked  at  him  sharply,  but  his  face 
was  solemn  and  the  light  of  sincerity  glowed  from 
his  eyes.  Van  Tipple  turned  and  looked  out  of 
the  window. 

"Very  well,"  said  the  judge,  "we  will  let  it 
stand  in  that  way.  But  I  cannot  help  thinking  it 
an  unfortunate  state  of  affairs." 

"Very  fortunate,  I  should  say,"  Gardwell  re- 
plied, with  a  laugh.  "It  will  doubtless  give  to 
some  worthy  charity  six  thousand  dollars  which 
otherwise  would  have  remained  in  the  coffers  of 
some  Eastern  millionaire." 

"True,  true!"  exclaimed  the  judge.  "Well, 
all 's  well  that  ends  well,  and,  Mr.  Van  Tipple,  I 
desire  to  ask  your  pardon  if  I  have  in  any  way 
hurt  your  feelings.  I  assure  you  that  I  did  not 
desire  to  do  so.  I  cannot  look  upon  these  matters 
in  the  light  that  you  and  Mr.  Gardwell  do.  But 
perhaps  you  are  right  and  I  am  wrong,  after  all. 
However,  I  can  see  nothing  so  very  wrong  in  it  as 
it  now  stands.  What  Mr.  Gardwell  says  in  refer- 
ence to  the  good  that  the  money  may  do  puts  an- 
other light  on  it  in  my  eyes." 

The  judge  and  Gardwell  took  their  departure, 
but  fifteen  minutes  later  Gardwell  was  back  in 
Van  Tipple's  office,  and  the  two  men  were  shaking 
hands  together. 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  207 

"Van  Tipple,"  said  Gardwell,  "virtuous  indig- 
nation is  your  long  suit.  You  would  make  a  hit 
in  it." 

"And  generosity  is  yours,"  replied  Van  Tipple. 
"Elliot  Gardwell!  the  friend  of  the  widow  and 
orphan !  4  The  Lord  moves  in  a  mysterious  way, 
his  wonders  to  perform. ' ' 

"Don't  scoff  or  blaspheme,"  said  Gardwell,  his 
manner  suddenly  changing.  "I  came  back  to  see 
you  in  reference  to  the  investment  of  the  fund.  I 
wish  it  done  under  my  direction  and  on  informa- 
tion which  I  shall  furnish  you." 

"You  will  have  no  objection  to  my  availing  my- 
self of  this  information  to  some  extent?  "  asked 
Van  Tipple. 

"To  the  same  extent  as  that  of  the  judge,"  said 
Gardwell.  "Put  in  an  equal  amount,  and  make 
it  a  joint  fund." 

"All  right;  and  we  '11  call  it  ;  Charity  fund  A/ 
or  perhaps  4  Federal  B  '  would  be  better." 

"Van  Tipple,"  said  Gardwell,  turning  with  a 
snap  and  an  ugly  look  on  his  face,  "you  are  too 
much  inclined  of  late  to  make  light  of  serious 
matters.  Besides,  you  talk  too  much  at  times 
after  business  hours;  at  the  club,  for  instance." 

The  blood  seemed  to  run  down  from  Van  Tip- 
ple's nose  and  spread  to  the  rest  of  his  face. 

"I  don't  know  by  what  right "  — 

"Yes,  you  do,"  interrupted  Gardwell.  "You 
know  by  what  right  I  talk  bluntly  and  frankly  to 
you.  Van  Tipple,"  he  said,  changing  to  a  softer 


208  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

tone,  "times  are  coming  when  a  man  must  have 
a  clear  head  and  a  steady  nerve.  You  are  drink- 
ing too  hard,  and  it  is  liable  to  get  us  into  trouble. 
You  came  very  near  upsetting  my  plans  in  this 
matter  by  indulging  in  too  much  wine." 

"You  take  advantage  "  —  began  Van  Tipple. 

"There  are  few  of  whom  I  cannot  take  advan- 
tage, if  I  choose  to,"  again  interrupted  Gardwell 
sharply.  "But  enough  of  this.  Can  you  afford 
to  quarrel  with  Elliot  Gardwell  when  he  wants  to 
be  your  friend?  " 

"No;  I  cannot.  But  I  think  you  are  rather 
hard  on  me.  I  have  never  disappointed  you  yet." 

"No;  and  I  don't  want  you  to.  It  was  one  dis- 
appointment that  lost  for  Napoleon  the  battle  of 
Waterloo.  Be  careful  that  nothing  is  said  of  this 
affair  with  the  judge,  and  do  not  talk  with  him 
about  it,  either." 

"There  is  no  danger,"  said  Van  Tipple.  "But 
it  strikes  me  that  you  are  changing,  Gardwell. 
You  never  used  to  be  nervous  about  small  matters, 
and  you  are  not  looking  as  well  as  you  used  to." 

"I  am  not  nervous  about  small  matters,  Van 
Tipple.  Matters  that  look  small  on  the  surface  at 
the  moment  are  apt  to  be  important  factors  in  the 
big  events  of  the  future.  As  for  my  health,  I 
never  felt  better  in  my  life.  By  the  way,  how  's 
the  widow?" 

"Ss-h!"  replied  Van  Tipple,  placing  a  finger 
on  his  lips  and  jerking  the  thumb  of  his  other 
hand  over  his  shoulder  towards  the  stenographer 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  209 

"Oh!  "  exclaimed  Gardwell;  with  a  laugh,  ubut  I 
mustn't  keep  you  from  your  dictation.  Good-by." 

"The  old  firm  of  W.  &  W.  is  particularly  dan- 
gerous when  it  gets  into  the  banking  business," 
he  muttered,  as  he  went  down  the  steps  of  the 
bank.  "I  will  keep  an  eye  on  Van  Tipple.  But 
I  must  be  looking  pretty  bad  when  a  man  like  him 
can  see  worry  and  care  on  my  face.  I  must  be 
more  careful  in  the  future." 

And  from  that  time  on,  for  several  months, 
Gardwell  cultivated  a  cheeriness  of  manner  and 
a  light-heartedness  of  spirit  that  called  forth  many 
congratulations  from  his  friends  on  his  greatly  im- 
proved health,  and  Van  Tipple  was  one  of  the 
first. 

When  Judge  Dunn  returned  from  the  confer- 
ence at  the  bank,  he  was  unable,  for  a  time,  to 
analyze  his  feelings.  He  felt  relieved  that  the 
check  was  no  longer  in  his  possession,  but  he  real- 
ized that  he  was  a  party  to  what  was  to  be,  in  his 
opinion,  a  series  of  speculations.  In  a  faint  way 
he  hoped  that  the  money  would  be  lost,  and  then 
it  would  occur  to  him  that  some  worthy  charitable 
institution  would  be  the  only  loser.  Then  his 
thoughts  would  run  off  into  another  channel. 
What  if  Van  Tipple  should  be  both  lucky  and  dar- 
ing, and  at  the  end  of  the  year  notify  him  that 
forty  or  fifty  thousand  dollars  had  been  made  ?  It 
gave  him  a  pleasant  little  glow  to  think  of  this  at 
first,  but  he  immediately  stamped  out  the  flame, 
and  tried  to  picture  to  himself  how  unfortunate  it 


210  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

would  be,  placing  him,  as  it  would,  in  a  position 
where  he  could  not  explain  how  he  had  come  into 
possession  of  so  much  wealth.  Then  a  little  voice 
would  come  up  and  whisper,  "But  who '11  know? 
who  '11  know?"  After  all,  he  thought,  the  money 
would  come  from  those  who  could  well  afford  to 
spare  it,  and  perhaps  it  might  fall  into  much  worse 
hands  than  his  own.  He  could  do  what  he  chose 
with  the  money,  and  he  thought  of  many  ways  in 
which  it  might  be  expended,  and  the  world  be 
better  off  for  it  and  he  none  the  worse. 

These  mental  arguments,  which  he  went  over 
almost  daily,  usually  concluded  with  a  compromise 
to  the  effect  that  it  would  be  for  the  best  to  have 
the  speculation  come  out  even  at  the  end  of  the 
year,  leaving  the  principal  for  some  worthy  char- 
ity, and  as  a  little  addendum  came  the  thought 
that  perhaps  it  would  be  just  as  well  to  have  a  few 
hundred  dollars  over.  He  could  use  that  for  Har- 
riet and  her  mother. 

And  while  the  judge  thus  thought,  and  Gard- 
well's  mind  was  frequently  on  it  too,  the  two  men 
in  their  conversations  never  came  closer  to  the 
subject  than  —  butterflies. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

GARDWELL  was  now  consumed  with  his  passion 
for  Harriet  Dunn.  And  Harriet  had  grown  to 
know  that  it  was  something  more  than  the  light  of 
friendship  which  glowed  in  Gard well's  dark  eyes 
when  he  looked  at  her.  He  did  not  know  when  it 
had  begun,  and  she  could  hardly  tell  when  she 
discovered  it.  It  had  gradually  dawned  upon  her, 
so  gradually,  in  fact,  that  there  was  no  shock. 
Gardwell  had  as  yet  not  voiced  his  feelings,  but 
the  girl  knew  them,  nevertheless,  by  intuition, 
and  knew  them  as  well  as  though  he  had  told  her 
in  so  many  words.  He  was  ever  tender  with  her, 
humoring  her  every  little  whim,  but  behind  this 
there  was  a  power  of  control,  which  grew  stronger 
and  stronger  each  day,  and  to  which  Harriet  lent 
more  and  more  obedience.  It  seemed  as  if  he 
wooed  her  with  his  eyes  alone ;  and  sometimes  when 
alone  with  him  (for  they  often  drove  together,  and 
he  frequently  took  her  to  the  opera  or  to  social 
functions  which  her  father  and  mother  did  not 
care  to  attend)  she  trembled,  and  a  weakness 
came  upon  her.  She  felt  the  presence  of  a  power 
which  she  could  not  place  or  define,  but  which 
ruled  her,  nevertheless.  Something  like  a  chill 
crept  over  her  at  these  times,  and  she  would  have 


212  THE    FEDERAL    JUDGE 

• 

a  vague  fear  of  him,  a  feeling  such  as  some  per- 
sons have  when  seized  with  an  impulse  to  jump 
from  a  great  height  although  they  know  that  death 
awaits  them  below.  Away  from  him  she  would 
laugh  at  these  fears.  How  kind  and  gentle  he 
always  was.  How  thoughtful!  and  never,  by  a 
single  word,  had  he  attempted  to  push  himself 
beyond  the  border  line  of  friendship. 

Gardwell  would  brook  no  rivals  in  such  an 
affair,  and  he  disposed  of  them  as  effectually  as  if 
he  had  lived  in  the  sixteenth  century  and  used 
dagger  or  poison.  Some  he  froze  out,  and  some 
he  snuffed  out,  taking  care  that  none  of  them  got 
close  enough  to  play  the  lover.  A  few  admirers 
of  this  beauty  of  Bowerville  he  tolerated,  making 
judicious  selections,  so  that  in  no  case  was  any  one 
of  them  at  all  likely  to  win  favor  in  her  eyes.  It 
was  not  well  for  a  young  man  to  pay  marked  atten- 
tion to  Harriet  Dunn  at  this  period.  Franklin 
Scudday,  a  fine  young  fellow,  employed  in  one  of 
the  departments  of  the  Trans-American  road,  who 
fell  in  love  with  Harriet  at  first  sight,  and  exhib- 
ited his  ardor  at  three  successive  functions,  went 
suddenly  to  New  York,  despite  his  protest  that  he 
cared  for  neither  increase  of  salary  nor  promotion, 
while  Florence  McCartney,  a  dashing  young  clerk 
in  Van  Tipple's  bank,  who  was  similarly  smitten 
and  who  ignored  Gardwell' s  frowns  and  danced 
three  times  with  Harriet  at  a  cotillon  party,  re- 
ceived a  note  a  few  days  later  from  Van  Tipple 
dismissing  him  from  the  bank  on  the  ground  that 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  213 

he  drank  too  much  to  suit  the  directors.  One 
admirer  there  was  whom  Gardwell  fostered,  pro- 
tected, and  encouraged.  He  was  a  weak  young 
man  with  a  hollow  chest,  a  vacant  smile,  and  a 
disposition  impervious  to  any  rebuff  which  was  not 
backed  up  by  physical  force.  Insipid  as  he  was 
by  nature,  the  money  of  a  rich  father,  to  which  he 
was  the  only  heir,  made  him  a  palatable  dish  in 
society,  for  which  many  a  fair  hand  was  stretched 
forth.  It  put  a  number  of  middle-aged  noses  out 
of  joint,  and  turned  up  a  few  younger  ones,  to 
have  him  hovering  about  Harriet  and  paying  court 
to  her  in  his  simple,  childish  way,  but  it  suited 
Gardwell's  purpose,  and  he  smiled  upon  him  even 
if  Harriet  did  not,  for  he  knew  that  she  never 
would.  Gardwell  took  occasion  every  now  and 
then  to  refer  to  him  in  Harriet's  presence  as  a 
very  worthy  young  man,  who,  being  blessed  with 
a  large  fortune  and  a  passive  disposition,  would 
make  an  excellent  husband  for  some  young  woman. 
Harriet  tried  all  the  mild  remedies  that  she  knew 
of  to  get  rid  of  the  youngster,  but  really  had  not 
the  heart  to  adopt  more  heroic  measures.  One 
afternoon  when  they  were  out  for  a  drive,  for 
Gardwell  had  a  dashing  team,  and  this  was  now 
his  only  diversion,  he  took  occasion  to  speak  highly 
of  this  young  man. 

"Please,  Mr.  Gardwell,"  she  burst  out,  "please 
don't  mention  tha.t  horrid  little  thing  to  me  again. 
I  am  sick  and  tired  of  seeing  him,  and  it  is  bad 
enough  to  have  him  around,  without  having  him 
called  to  mind  when  he  isn't." 


214  THE   FEDERAL    JUDGE 

Gardwell  laughed. 

"He  is  said  to  be  a  very  good  young  man.  His 
habits  are  of  the  best." 

"He  doesn't  know  enough  to  be  wicked,"  cried 
Harriet,  with  a  toss  of  her  head. 

"But  he  is  rich  and  good  at  the  same  time," 
suggested  Gardwell.  "That 's  a  rare  combination. 
He  is  evidently  a  devoted  admirer  of  yours." 

"Poor  little  fellow,"  she  laughed.  "But  it  would 
not  make  any  difference,  no  .matter  how  much  he 
knew;  I  would  never  marry  a  rich  young  man." 

"Then  you  have  poor  young  men,  and  rich  old 
men,  in  your  list  of  eligibles?  " 

"I  mean,"  said  Harriet,  "that  I  would  not 
marry  a  man  who  had  not  made  his  own  fortune. 
A  poor  young  man  climbs  up  while  a  rich  young 
man  has  nothing  to  climb  for  and  usually  slides 
down.  But  I  never  would  marry  a  rich  old  man." 

"But  would  you  consider  a  middle-aged  rich  man, 
if  he  had  made  his  own  fortune?"  asked  Gardwell. 

Harriet  turned  and  found  Gardwell  looking  at 
her  with  that  peculiar  look  in  his  eyes  which  she 
had  sometimes  seen.  The  blood  came  to  her  face 
and  she  looked  down.  A  feeling  of  f aintness  and 
a  consciousness  of  weakness  came  upon  her. 

"Yes,"  she  replied  in  a  low  tone,  "if  he  was 
the  right  man,  and  I  loved  him." 

"Shall  we  stop  at  the  Country  Club?"  asked 
Gardwell  quietly. 

"Yes,"  said  Harriet.  "I  am  thirsty,  and  would 
enjoy  a  sherbet." 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  215 

"Not  yet,"  thought  Gardwell  a  few  minutes 
later,  as  he  watched  Harriet  sipping  the  cooling 
draught;  "she  is  really  enjoying  her  sherbet." 

That  evening,  when  alone  in  her  room,  Gard- 
well's  dark  face,  with  the  strange  light  in  his  eyes, 
came  up  before  Harriet  with  a  vividness  that 
startled  her.  Her  eyes  chanced  to  fall  upon  her 
dresser,  and  she  saw  there  several  tokens  of  Gard- 
well's  regard,  and  also  a  bunch  of  flowers,  part  of 
a  bouquet  which  he  had  brought  the  night  before 
and  divided  between  her  and  her  mother.  In  the 
bunch  was  a  spray  of  forget-me-nots.  She  sepa- 
rated the  tiny  blue  blossom  from  its  more  preten- 
tious comrades,  and,  holding  it  in  her  hands, 
looked  at  it  for  some  moments.  Then  she  opened 
a  drawer  and  drew  forth  a  shabby  little  memory 
box.  In  the  box  were  several  trinkets,  among 
them  two  small  rings,  much  too  small  for  her  now, 
and  a  photograph.  The  photograph  was  that  of 
Robert  Emmersley  taken  some  years  ago. 

"Dear  old  Bob,"  she  murmured,  looking  at  the 
picture.  "He  knew  me  when  mamma  and  I  did 
the  housework,  when  my  hands  were  brown  instead 
of  white,  and  when  there  were  freckles  on  my 
nose.  Poor  old  Bob,  he  loved  me  then,  I  know 
he  did.  Perhaps  he  does  yet,"  she  added;  "he's 
such  a  stubborn  fellow." 

And  Harriet  put  the  picture  back,  and  when 
she  had  retired  ignored  all  traditions  by  promptly 
falling  to  sleep. 

"I  had  such  a  queer  dream  last  night,"  said 


216  THE   FEDERAL    JUDGE 

Harriet,  at  breakfast  the  next  morning.  "It  was 
all  about  Bob  Emmersley." 

"Robert  Emmersley,  you  mean,"  cautioned  her 
mother  quietly. 

"Oh,  well,  we  always  called  him  Bob,  didn't 
we?  "  answered  Harriet.  "At  any  rate,  I  dreamed 
that  he  had  been  elected  President,  and  that  he 
sent  for  you,  papa,  to  put  you  up  above  all  the 
other  judges  in  the  country,  judge  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  or  something  of  that  sort.  We  went  out 
to  Bowerville  together,  and  Bob  —  I  mean  Robert, 
-  Congressman  Emmersley  (but  President  Em- 
mersley he  was  in  the  dream)  —  caught  a  bass  that 
weighed  seven  pounds.  And  then  I " 

"Harriet,"  broke  in  the  judge,  "people  are  not 
responsible  for  what  they  dream.  If  they  were, 
they  would  often  be  open  to  criticism  in  the  choice 
of  their  subjects." 

"But  it's  only  a  dream.  Don't  you  want  me 
to  tell  you  about  it?  " 

"No,"  said  the  judge.  "I  do  not  care  to  hear 
anything  further.  Mr.  Emmersley  got  himself 
elected  to  Congress  by  being  an  unmitigated  young 
demagogue,  and  he  hasn't  improved  any  since  he 
got  there.  He  has  achieved  a  cheap  sort  of  noto- 
riety, and  has  made  several  speeches  calculated  to 
arouse  discontent  among  people  who  are  in  fairly 
well-to-do  circumstances.  He  is  rapidly  growing 
to  be  a  sort  of  legalized  anarchist  with  a  license  to 
preach." 

"Why,  I  have  read  all  his  speeches,"  cried  Har- 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  217 

riet.  "I  haven't  found  anything  so  dreadful  in 
them.  He  simply  argues  that  there  ought  not  to 
be  so  many  poor  people  in  the  country,  and  that 
the  very  rich  people  ought  to  give  the  poor  a  little 
of  their  money.  '  Live  issues  for  living  men. 
Dead  issues  for  dead  ones.  Fair  wages  for  labor, 
and  a  reasonable  profit  for  capital, '  is  what  he  said 
in  one  of  his  speeches." 

"You  have  read  them  all!  "  exclaimed  the  judge 
in  surprise.  "You  might  put  your  spare  time  to 
much  better  use  than  reading  the  harangues  of  a 
Populist  congressman." 

"But  he  came  from  Bowerville,  and  we  used  to 
know  him,"  pleaded  Harriet,  flushing  slightly. 

"Yes,  we  used  to  know  him,"  said  the  judge 
dryly,  "but  I  do  not  know  him  now.  I  did  think, 
at  one  time,  that  there  was  good  material  in  him, 
but  I  was  sadly  disappointed  in  the  outcome.  Did 
you  read  his  speech  in  which  he  attacked  the  fed- 
eral judiciary  and  charged  that  they  were  all  sub- 
servient to  corporation  influences?" 

"No,"  answered  Harriet,  "I  did  not,  but  he  cer- 
tainly didn't  mean  you." 

"I  should  hope  not,"  said  the  judge,  "and  he 
did  say  there  were  some  exceptions.  Neverthe- 
less, it  was  a  tirade  against  the  bench,  and  calcu- 
lated to  arouse  in  the  public  a  feeling  of  prejudice. 
There  are  bad  and  unscrupulous  men  in  every 
trade,  calling,  and  profession,  but  it  is  not  fair 
to  denounce  them  all  for  the  misdeeds  of  the  few. 
There  is  a  growing  tendency  among  the  richer 


218  THE    FEDERAL   JUDGE 

classes  to  correct  these  evils  and  abuses  which 
have  grown  up,  and  such  men  as  Gardwell  are  do- 
ing more  good  for  the  country  than  all  the  howling 
demagogues  put  together,  although  I  must  confess 
that  Mr.  Gardwell  is  something  of  an  exception 
among  the  corporation  magnates  of  this  country. 
He  has  never  had  a  strike  on  his  road,  and  I  be- 
lieve him  when  he  tells  me  that  one  will  never 
take  place.  He  is  certainly  a  wonderful  young 
man,  and  Congressman  Emmersley  is  a  mighty 
small  potato  compared  to  him,"  concluded  the  judge, 
lapsing  into  one  of  his  old  country  expressions. 

"  Do  you  consider  Mr.  Gardwell  such  a  young 
man?"  asked  Harriet  archly. 

"He  is  not  an  old  one,  by  any  means,"  declared 
the  judge,  with  some  dignity.  "He  's  a  fine  type 
of  the  modern  young  business  man.  Do  you  look 
upon  him  as  an  old  man?  " 

"No,"  Harriet  answered,  "but  I  never  thought 
of  him  as  a  young  man.  He  is  old  enough  to  be 
my  father,  isn't  he?" 

"Harriet,"  said  Mrs.  Dunn,  "how  can  you  talk 
about  Mr.  Gardwell  in  that  way?  He  has  been 
so  kind  to  us  all." 

"Oh,  I  don't  mean  anything  at  all,  mamma," 
cried  Harriet.  "  I  think  he  is  a  very  fine  gentle- 
man, indeed,  and  he  certainly  thinks  the  world  of 
papa." 

"And  he  seems  quite  fond  of  you  at  times," 
added  Mrs.  Dunn,  casting  a  significant  look  toward 
Harriet. 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  219 

"Yes,"  replied  Harriet,  laughing,  "he  likes  me 
for  my  papa's  sake.  Oh,  I  forgot,"  she  cried, 
pushing  her  chair  back  and  jumping  up,  "I  was 
to  telephone  to  Ethel  Berthwerk  the  first  thing  in 
the  morning." 

"Be  careful,  mother,"  said  the  judge,  after  she 
had  left  the  room,  "don't  force  her  any.  She  is 
not  one  of  the  kind  that  will  stand  driving." 

"But  I  do  believe  Mr.  Gardwell  is  in  love  with 
the  child,"  said  Mrs.  Dunn.  "He  as  much  as 
told  me  so  one  evening  in  a  roundabout  way,  and 
he  certainly  looks  it  at  times." 

The  judge  was  pleased,  but  he  forced  a  frown 
and,  pursing  his  lips,  replied :  — 

"Let  us  not  cherish  any  absurd  ambitions,  my 
dear.  Mr.  Gardwell  is  a  very  rich  man,  indeed, 
and  it  is  not  at  all  probable  that  he  would  think 
of  a  poor  girl  like  Harriet  for  his  wife.  And  it 
would  be  just  like  her  to  refuse  him,  anyway.  She 
has  the  same  stubborn  streak  that  her  brother  had." 

"Oh,  Tracy,"  cried  Mrs.  Dunn,  bursting  into 
tears,  "how  could  you  speak  unkindly  of  Tom?" 

The  judge  jumped  up  from  the  table,  and,  rush- 
ing around,  bent  over  his  sobbing  wife,  and  mur- 
mured, "Forgive  me,  dear;  forgive  me,  Mary;  I 
forgot  myself." 

"Oh,  I  wish  I  was  back  in  Bowerville.  I  wish 
I  was  back  in  Bowerville,"  sobbed  the  poor  little 
woman.  "You  are  changing,  Tracy,  and  I  feel 
sometimes  that  you  are  ashamed  of  your  plain  old 
wife." 


220  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

"Never!  my  dear,  never!"  cried  the  judge 
stoutly.  "I  have  not  changed  a  whit,  and  I  am  as 
proud  of  you  now  as  I  was  the  day  we  stood  up  to 
be  married." 

She  looked  up  into  his  face  and  slipped  one  of 
her  hands  into  his. 

"I  can't  fit  myself  to  the  new  ways  as  you  do," 
she  said.  "And  I  feel  so  lonesome.  I  packed 
his  plate  and  cup  away,  and  the  old  knife  and 
fork,  when  we  came  here,  for  it  was  part  of  my 
dream  that  he  would  come  back  to  the  old  house, 
that  he  would  come  in  through  the  same  door  that 
he  went  out  of." 

"Put  them  back  on  the  table  again,  dear,"  cried 
the  judge.  "It's  a  comfort  to  you,  and  he  may 
come  back,  after  all." 

"No,"  said  Mrs.  Dunn.  "He's  grown  to  be 
a  man  now,  something  that  I  never  realized  while 
we  were  living  in  the  country  —  if  he  isn't  — 
gone,"  she  gasped.  "He's  a  man  by  this  time, 
and  my  little  dream  is  dispelled.  It  was  a  foolish 
dream,  but  a  long  and  a  sweet  one,  and  oh,  Tracy, 
it  hurts  me  so  when  I  realize  that  after  all  it  was 
only  a  dream." 

"God  forgive  me  for  being  so  self-willed  and 
unyielding,"  said  the  judge.  "But,  Mary,  I  will 
do  everything  in  my  power  in  the  future  to  make 
amends.  I  will  find  him  if  I  can." 

"Oh,  Tracy,  dear,"  cried  Mrs.  Dunn,  sobbing 
as  if  her  heart  would  break,  "I  know  now  that 
you  do  love  me  yet." 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  221 

And  in  that  moment  Judge  Tracy  Dunn  breathed 
a  wish  that  the  trust  fund  of  the  widows  and  or- 
phans might  multiply  itself  many  times  within  the 
coming  year.  He  would  spend  it,  spend  it  all,  if 
necessary,  in  the  search  for  his  son  —  spend  it  for 
his  dear  and  faithful  wife. 

When  the  judge  reached  the  court-room  that 
morning,  he  found  a  note  from  Elliot  Gardwell, 
saying  that  he  had  been  called  away  to  New  York 
on  important  business.  "Serious  complications 
have  arisen  in  the  affairs  of  our  road,"  wrote 
Gardwell.  "But  I  shall  find  time  to  take  a  trip 
to  Washington  and  see  if  I  cannot  possibly  secure 
one  or  two  new  specimens  from  the  Smithsonian 
Institution.  If  I  get  them,"  his  note  concluded, 
"my  trip  will  not  have  been  made  in  vain." 

"It  is  wonderful,"  said  the  judge,  "that  both  of 
us  should  have  such  a  passion  for  butterflies.  And 
yet,"  he  added,  "we  seem  to  agree  in  most  things." 

Gardwell  was  absent  longer  than  he  had  antici- 
pated, and  it  was  some  weeks  before  he  returned. 
The  judge  was  lonesome  without  him,  and  spent 
many  of  his  evenings  at  the  club,  returning  home, 
however,  at  an  early  hour.  Van  Tipple  was  drink- 
ing as  hard  as  usual,  but  he  seemed  to  rather  avoid 
the  judge  since  their  interview  in  the  bank.  One 
night  when  he  was  unusually  mellow,  and  corre- 
spondingly good-natured,  he  approached  the  judge, 
and,  taking  a  seat  beside  him,  said :  — 

"Excuse  me,  judge,  but  have  you  had  any  word 
from  Elliot  Gardwell?  " 


222  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

"No,"  answered  the  judge,  mentally  resolving  to 
make  amends  for  what  he  considered  his  somewhat 
unkind  treatment  in  the  past,  by  being  courteous 
to  Van  Tipple,  no  matter  how  repulsive  he  might 
be  to  him,  in  liquor  as  he  was,  "no;  nothing  fur- 
ther than  a  couple  of  specimens  which  he  sent  me 
from  Washington." 

"Wonderful  man,  wonderful  man!"  said  Van 
Tipple,  shaking  his  head  and  speaking  in  a  thick 
manner.  "Judge,  will  you  promise  to  keep  a 
secret  if  I  tell  you?  You  're  not  to  tell  Gardwell 
under  any  circumstances." 

"Certainly,"  assented  the  judge,  "provided  it  is  a 
proper  one.  Don't  tell  me  one  that  isn't  proper, 
though." 

"Oh,  it 's  proper,"  said  Van  Tipple,  "eminently 
proper,  and  it  concerns  you  more  than  it  does 
him." 

"Very  well,  go  ahead." 

Van  Tipple  leaned  over  the  table,  so  as  to  be  as 
close  to  the  judge's  ear  as  possible,  and  whispered 
in  a  husky  voice :  "  Thirty  thousand  dollars  in  the 
widows'  and  orphans'  trust  fund.  Hasn't  been  a 
single  losing  investment.  Thirty  thousand  dol- 
lars, do  you  understand?  Mum  's  the  word."  He 
arose  and  tottered  away. 

A  chill  ran  through  the  judge. 

"Thirty  thousand  dollars!  Thirty  thousand 
dollars!"  he  repeated  to  himself.  He  sat  as  if 
stunned.  The  very  thought  of  so  vast  a  sum  to 
his  credit,  towards  the  accumulation  of  which  he 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  223 

had  contributed  neither  capital  nor  brains  nor 
labor,  seemed  to  stupefy  him.  And  thus  he  sat, 
scarcely  moving  a  muscle,  until  the  cuckoo  in  the 
clock  told  him  it  was  a  later  hour  than  he  had  ever 
stayed  at  the  club  before. 

44  Yes,  every  cent  of  it  for  Mary  !  "  he  exclaimed, 
as  he  arose ;  and  taking  his  hat  and  cane,  he  started 
for  home. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

THE  struggle  between  the  two  great  factions 
which  had  so  long  contended  for  the  control  of  the 
Trans-American  road  appeared  to  be  drawing  to 
a  close  when  Elliot  Gardwell  reached  New  York 
city.  The  forces  of  Trine  now  controlled  the 
majority  of  the  stock,  and  the  annual  meeting  was 
not  far  off.  The  faction  of  which  Bass  was  the 
head,  so  far  as  holdings  went,  and  to  which  Gard- 
well belonged,  was  to  all  appearances  defeated, 
and  there  appeared  to  be  nothing  left  to  do  but  to 
capitulate  and  make  the  best  terms  possible. 
This  was  the  situation  when  Gardwell  arrived  in 
the  East  and  met  Bass. 

"They  are  too  strong  for  us,  Gardwell,"  said 
Bass.  "We  have  made  a  good  fight,  but  we  are 
beaten." 

"That  is  bad  news  for  me,"  replied  Gardwell, 
"though  I  little  expected  to  hear  you  say  the 
words;  I  thought  that  you  would  never  surren- 
der." 

"Nor  do  I  surrender,"  cried  Bass,  with  some 
spirit,  "but  what  would  you  have  me  do?  There 
is  absolutely  no  power  on  earth  that  can  get  us 
out.  We  have  not  the  forces  back  of  us,  —  the 
money  with  which  to  regain  a  controlling  interest. 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  225 

It  is  easy  enough  to  talk  about  fighting  to  the 
last,  and  any  one  can  fight  until  he  is  pommeled 
into  insensibility;  but  if  a  man  has  reasoning  fac- 
ulties, he  always  reaches  a  point  where  he  knows 
he  is  beaten,  no  matter  what  he  may  do  later  on." 

"Then  you  think  there  is  absolutely  no  hope?" 
inquired  Gardwell. 

"Absolutely  none." 

"Let  me  ask  you  a  question.  Suppose  I  were 
to  show  you  a  way  by  which,  although  in  the 
minority,  we  might  retain  control?  " 

"Your  holdings  are  almost  as  great  as  mine;  go 
ahead." 

"Almost  as  great!  "  Gardwell  laid  some  stress 
on  the  first  word. 

Bass  laughed. 

"Gardwell,"  he  exclaimed,  "you  are  a  keener! 
I  said  almost  as  great.  If  you  can  show  me  a  way 
by  which  to  retain  permanent  control,  your  inter- 
ests shall  be  as  great  as  mine.  But  it  must  be 
proven  first." 

"Good  enough,"  said  Gardwell  quietly.  "I 
would  put  the  road  into  the  hands  of  a  receiver." 

Bass  smiled  pityingly,  as  he  continued :  "  I  said 
permanent  control.  It  would  be  easy  enough, 
perhaps,  to  secure  a  temporary  advantage,  but  how 
could  we  expect  to  hold  it  with  both  the  law  and 
the  money  on  their  side?  With  one  or  the  other 
we  might  succeed,  but  without  either,  never." 

"The  law  is  as  the  human  mind  construes  it," 
said  Gardwell,  "and  the  belief,  in  a  man's  mind, 


226  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

that  one  thing  is  right  and  another  wrong,  makes 
it  so,  so  far  as  that  mind  controls  it.  As  for  their 
money,  in  this  case  they  would  be  invincible  if 
they  were  poor ;  but  as  it  is,  their  money  is  their 
one  vulnerable  point." 

"What  do  you  mean  by  such  talk? "  asked 
Bass  in  some  surprise. 

"I  mean,"  replied  Gardwell,  "that  I  know  a 
federal  judge  who  will  appoint  a  receiver,  stand 
by  him  with  the  grim  tenacity  of  one  of  Oliver 
Cromwell's  Roundheads,  and  feel  that  he  is  acting 
as  the  agent  of  Right  in  frustrating  the  wicked 
designs  of  a  grasping  corporation.  As  for  money 
—  pah!  he  wouldn't  look  at  it." 

"If  you  have  such  a  man,"  said  Bass  thought- 
fully, "you  have  indeed  discovered  a  rara  avis. 
But  pray  tell  me,  how  did  such  a  man  ever  get  on 
the  federal  bench?" 

"I  put  him  there,"  returned  Gardwell  quietly. 

"Oh,  ho!  "  cried  Bass,  with  a  low  whistle, "that 
explains  it.  You  certainly  have  a  hold  on  him." 

"No,"  said  Gardwell,  "he  does  not  even  know 
that  I  had  anything  to  do  with  it.  He  is  a  free 
agent,  or  at  least  he  imagines  he  is,  although  he 
is  bound  by  a  chain  which  he  can  never  break, 
and  which  he  has  no  idea  binds  him." 

"Well,  well,"  exclaimed  Bass,  "with  such  an 
ally,  in  such  a  position,  we  may  yet  pull  through ! 
At  any  rate,  it  is  worth  trying." 

To  mature  and  carry  out  the  plans  for  this  new 
move  required  no  small  amount  of  labor,  but 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  227 

Gardwell  and  Bass  bent  their  energies  to  the  task, 
and  at  the  end  of  three  weeks  nothing  remained 
but  for  Gardwell  to  "go  home  and  touch  the  but- 
ton," as  Bass  expressed  it.  The  application  for 
a  receivership  was  made  out  in  the  name  of  a  trust 
company  which  had  large  holdings  in  the  Trans- 
American  road ;  and  so  complete  were  all  the  de- 
tails that  even  the  court's  decree  ordering  a  re- 
ceivership was  drawn  and  prepared,  lacking  only 
the  signature  of  Judge  Dunn. 

Before  his  return  to  the  West,  Gardwell  made 
a  flying  trip  to  Washington,  and  there  chanced  to 
meet  Emmersley.  Life  in  Washington  had  given 
to  the  young  congressman  a  certain  polish  which 
enabled  him  to  conceal  his  real  feelings  in  a  con- 
ventional manner  that  was  in  striking  contrast 
with  his  former  brusqueness,  and  he  greeted  Gard- 
well pleasantly  enough.  Gardwell  at  once  observed 
the  change,  but  he  knew  that  behind  that  conven- 
tional smile  there  still  lurked  the  same  unbending 
spirit  which  made  itself  known  when  they  parted 
company  at  the  Bowerville  depot. 

"I  am  delighted  to  meet  you  again,  congress- 
man," said  Gardwell,  with  his  most  winning  smile. 
"I  can  never  forget  that  if  it  had  not  been  for 
your  strong  arm  and  steady  nerve  I  should  prob- 
ably not  be  among  the  living  to-day." 

ulwas  amply  repaid, "replied  Emmersley;  "the 
bicycle  you  sent  me  was  much  superior  to  the  one 
I  had  been  riding.  By  the  way,  how  long  do  you 
remain  in  Washington?" 


228  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

"Only  to-day,"  answered  Gardwell.  "I  had  a 
few  hours  to  spare,  and  took  a  run  down  from 
New  York  as  a  sort  of  a  rest." 

"You  are  at  leisure,  then,  and  I  have  a  treat  in 
store  for  you.  I  happen  to  know  a  man  in  George- 
town who  has  a  most  remarkable  collection  of  but- 
terflies, and  I  would  be  pleased  to  take  you  over 
there  this  afternoon.  I  know  you  are  passionately 
fond  of  them!" 

"Nothing  would  give  me  greater  pleasure,"  re- 
turned Gardwell,  without  a  moment's  hesitation. 
"When  shall  I  meet  you?" 

"Say  one  o'clock,  if  that  is  convenient." 

"Very  well,"  said  Gardwell,  "let  it  be  one 
o'clock.  And  allow  me  to  say  that  I  greatly  ap- 
preciate your  kindness."  He  shook  Emmersley's 
hand  and  walked  away. 

"A  damned  shrewd  young  man,"  he  muttered 
to  himself. 

At  one  o'clock  Congressman  Emmersley,  loiter- 
ing in  the  rotunda  of  his  hotel,  received  a  note 
from  Elliot  Gardwell,  setting  forth  that  he  had 
suddenly  been  called  back  to  New  York  by  tele- 
gram. He  laughed  softly  as  he  crumpled  up  the 
note,  saying  to  himself:  "Distance  does  not  lend 
enchantment  to  his  views  of  butterflies.  The 
closer  he  is  to  the  old  judge,  the  more  he  thinks 
of  them." 

Gard well's  homeward  trip  was  as  quick  as  the 
fastest  train  could  carry  him,  and  was  broken  only 
by  a  stop  of  one  night  in  Chiopolis.  He  had 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  229 

scarcely  touched  foot  in  Malton  when  he  met  Van 
Tipple,  who  was  waiting  to  take  an  out-bound 
train. 

"Ah,"  exclaimed  the  banker,  "glad  to  see  you 
back,  Gardwell,  glad  to  see  you  back!  I  have 
been  following  your  instructions  implicitly,  but  I 
must  confess  they  were  somewhat  surprising  to 
me.  I  don't  mind  saying,  however,  that  in  my 
opinion  the  '  orphans  '  won't  be  any  richer  at  the 
end  of  the  year  than  they  are  now." 

"Keep  your  opinions  to  yourself,  Van,  or  at 
least  tell  them  to  no  one  but  me,"  was  the  blunt 
reply.  "Do  nothing  further  until  I  notify  you. 
I  hope  you  have  said  nothing  to  the  judge." 

"Not  a  word,"  said  Van  Tipple,  "not  a  word. 
By  the  way,  I  forgot  to  tell  you  that  he  is  laid  up. 
Been  abed  for  three  days  with  lumbago,  I  under- 
stand." 

"Nothing  serious?"  asked  Gar  dwell,  with  a 
start. 

"Oh,  no,"  replied  Van  Tipple;  "Dr.  Black  told 
me  at  the  club  last  evening  that  he  thought  the 
judge  would  be  out  in  a  few  days.  But  here  's  my 
train;  good-by." 

Gar  dwell  took  a  cab,  and  directed  the  cabman 
to  take  him  directly  to  Judge  Dunn's  residence. 
"So  Black  has  got  him,"  he  murmured.  "Well, 
I  '11  see  to  it  that  he  don't  cut  him  open  until  I 
get  through  with  him." 

Mrs.  Dunn  and  Harriet  had  gone  shopping, 
and  he  found  the  judge  stretched  out  on  a  lounge 


230  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

in  the  butterfly  study.  The  judge's  eyes  sparkled 
when  Gar  dwell  walked  into  the  room,  and  he  tried 
to  rise,  but  fell  back  with  a  twinge  of  pain.  Nev- 
ertheless, he  shook  Gardwell's  hands  with  a  grasp 
in  which  there  was  very  little  suggestion  of  feeble- 
ness. 

"You  don't  know  how  glad  I  am  to  see  you 
back.  I  have  been  lonesome  without  you." 

"I hope  there  is  nothing  serious  the  matter,"  said 
Gardwell,  and  for  once  he  was  sincere,  if  he  ever 
was. 

"Oh,  no,"  said  the  judge;  "this  is  nothing. 
But  to  tell  you  the  truth,  I  mind  it,  for  I  have 
never  had  anything  the  matter  with  me  before,  as 
far  back  as  I  can  remember.  I  lay  it  all  to  being 
deprived  of  my  exercise  of  chopping  wood  in  the 
morning.  I  tell  you  there  is  nothing  like  swing- 
ing an  axe.  When  I  retire  from  the  bench,"  he 
added,  with  a  laugh,  "it  will  be  with  the  ambition 
to  get  back  where  I  can  have  my  wood-chopping 
exercise  every  morning.  But  how  have  you  been  ?  " 
he  asked. 

"I  have  no  cause  to  complain  on  the  score  of 
health,"  said  Gardwell,  a  look  of  deep  despon- 
dency coming  over  his  face,  "  but  business  com- 
plications have  arisen,  the  outcome  of  which  I  fear 
will  be  the  loss  to  me  of  what  I  have  struggled  for 
all  my  life." 

"Why,  what  do  you  mean?"  asked  the  judge 
anxiously. 

"I  mean,"  said  Gardwell,  rising  and  beginning 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  231 

to  pace  up  and  down  the  room,  "I  mean,  that  it 
looks  as  if  my  associates  and  myself  are  about  to 
fall  as  victims  to  a  combination  of  capital  much 
stronger  than  we  can  hope  to  cope  with.  Ah,  my 
friend,"  he  continued,  "I  now  realize  the  truth  of 
a  great  deal  that  you  have  said  in  our  talks  regard- 
ing corporations  and  the  power  of  capital.  There 
is,  alas,  very  little  conscience  where  a  dollar  is 
concerned,  and  absolutely  none  where  millions  are 
involved.  I  have  talked  differently,  and  have 
tried  to  govern  my  actions  in  accordance  with  the 
views  which  I  held  as  to  equity  and  justice  in  all 
matters,  even  if  the  interests  of  the  corporation 
were  involved.  Three  years  ago  I  could  have 
crushed  the  very  forces  which  now  rise  up  against 
me,  and  which  will  show  me  no  mercy,  and,  what 
is  worse,  wreck  the  immense  property  of  the  Trans- 
American  road.  I  do  not  care  so  much  for  myself, 
but  my  heart  bleeds  when  I  think  of  the  thousands 
of  innocent  bondholders  whom  we  have  induced  to 
put  their  savings  into  the  enterprise,  thinking  it  a 
safe  and  profitable  investment." 

Gardwell  paused,  and  a  groan  escaped  him. 

"Is  there  no  way  by  which  you  can  protect  your 
rights?"  asked  the  judge. 

"  Eights !  "  exclaimed  Gardwell.  "  Might  makes 
right  nowadays,  as  you  have  often  said,  judge. 
What  mercy  can  we  expect  from  men  who  have 
millions  at  their  back,  and  who  are  as  unscrupu- 
lous as  they  are  powerful?  The  situation  is  this: 
The  forces  of  Trine  have  enlisted  the  money  of 


232  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

the  Rothschilds  and  other  foreign  capitalists,  and 
have  secured  the  controlling  interest.  The  annual 
meeting  will  shortly  take  place,  at  which  this  fac- 
tion will  obtain  full  control  of  the  great  road. 
Their  next  step  will  be  to  repudiate  those  obliga- 
tions, the  payment  of  which  does  not  enhance  their 
own  interests,  and  thousands  of  stockholders  and 
bondholders  will  be  robbed.  Yes,  sir;  robbed,  I 
say,  in  the  most  barefaced,  and  yet  in  a  legal 
manner.  Had  I  been  as  unscrupulous  as  they 
have  been,  had  I  proved  myself  the  financial 
trickster  that  some  suppose  me  to  be,  these  fellows 
would  not  now  be  in  a  position  to  take  this  advan- 
tage. Why,  I  could  have  wiped  them  out,  as  they 
will  now  demolish  me  and  my  associates." 

"Can  you  not  apply  to  the  courts  for  protec- 
tion?" asked  the  judge,  attempting  to  rise  on  his 
elbow.  "Such  a  bold  and  wholesale  robbery 
should  never  be  allowed  to  be  consummated." 

"The  courts!"  cried  Gardwell  dramatically. 
"  What  court  will  afford  us  any  lasting  protection 
where  the  preponderance  of  power  is  measured  in 
millions?"  Even  a  receivership  for  the  road, 
which  is  the  most  we  could  ask  for,  would  be  met 
with  opposition  as  soon  as  applied  for." 

"There  is  one  court,"  said  the  judge,  suddenly 
rising  and  sitting  bolt  upright  on  the  lounge. 
"There  is  one  court,  and  it  is  the  court  over  which 
Judge  Tracy  Dunn  has  the  honor  to  preside.  It 
has  never  been  said  that  I  flinched  in  the  face  of 
duty,  and  it  never  shall  be  as  long  as  I  am  alive. 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  233 

Draw  your  paper,  sir;  and  if  the  facts  are  as  you 
have  just  represented  them  to  me,  you  shall  be 
placed  under  the  protection  of  my  court." 

"Judge,"  said  Gardwell,  grasping  his  hand, 
"  I  thank  you  for  your  noble  offer.  But  you  have 
no  idea  of  the  influences  which  will  be  brought  to 
bear  upon  you." 

"What  do  I  care  for  such  influences!"  cried 
the  judge,  his  eyes  flashing.  "And  I  take  excep- 
tion, sir,  to  your  use  of  the  word  '  noble. '  I  do 
not  wish  to  be  eulogized  for  doing  a  plain  and 
simple  duty.  Draw  your  application  for  a  receiv- 
ership if  that  is  what  you  want.  I  will  give  it  a 
careful  inspection,  and  act  according  to  my  judg- 
ment, come  what  may." 

"Very  well,"  assented  Gardwell,  "but  the  matter 
must  be  kept  very  quiet,  for  should  it  leak  out 
that  we  shall  attempt  such  a  procedure,  the  other 
side  would  immediately  go  into  some  other  federal 
court  and  secure  action  that  might  prevent  us 
from  gaining  our  rights." 

"Never  fear,"  said  the  judge,  "right  is  sure  to 
prevail  in  the  long  run.  But  what  a  burning 
shame  that  such  a  condition  of  affairs  exists.  Af- 
ter all,  young  Emmersley  did  not  exaggerate  much 
when  he  attacked  the  federal  judiciary,  if  things 
are  as  you  say." 

The  excitement  for  the  moment  had  kept  the 
judge  sitting  up,  but  a  sudden  twinge  in  his  back 
caused  him  to  utter  a  groan,  and  his  flushed  face 
to  grow  pale.  Gardwell  rushed  to  his  side  and 
assisted  him  to  lie  down. 


234  THE  FEDERAL  JUDGE 

"I  should  not  have  spoken  about  the  matter  at 
all,"  Gardwell  said  in  a  self -reproachful  way, 
"and  how  it  slipped  out,  I  do  not  know.  It  will 
make  you  worse  to  get  worked  up  over  this.  I 
heard  you  were  slightly  indisposed,  and  came  up 
at  once  to  see  you  and  to  bring  something  that  I 
thought  would  divert  your  mind.  These  are  some 
specimens  that  my  friend  Professor  Dwight,  of 
the  Smithsonian,  had  saved  for  me." 

An  expression  of  delight  came  over  the  judge's 
face,  and,  looking  up  at  Gardwell,  he  said :  — 

"  Gardwell,  these  are  magnificent !  magnificent ! 
They  do  me  more  good  in  one  minute  than  all  of 
Black's  doctoring  in  a  week." 

"Yes,"  replied  Gardwell;  "I  have  admired 
them  for  many  a  mile  on  my  way  from  the  East, 
and  they  caused  me  to  forget  my  troubles  for  the 
while.  But  I  must  be  hurrying  over  to  the  office. 
I  came  here  directly  from  the  train,  where  I  met 
Van  Tipple,  who  told  me  that  you  were  ailing." 

"Good-by,"  said  the  judge.  "Get  your  papers 
ready,  and  we  will  see  about  the  matter.  I  think 
you  will  come  out  all  right." 

Gardwell  bowed  himself  out,  and  when  he  had 
gone  the  judge  clinched  his  fists  and  shut  his  jaw. 
"This  is  what  I  have  been  waiting  for,"  he 
thought.  "I  will  show  them  that  there  is  one  fed- 
eral judge  who  dares  to  mete  out  justice  and  right 
to  the  rich  and  the  poor,  the  strong  and  the  weak. 
A  man  like  Gardwell  deserves  encouragement; 
there  are  so  few  of  them  in  his  line  of  business." 


THE  FEDERAL   JUDGE  235 

Twenty  minutes  later  Gardwell  sent  a  cipher 
dispatch  to  New  York,  informing  Bass  that  the 
road  would  be  put  into  the  hands  of  a  receivership, 
and  that  himself  and  Bass  would  be  named  as  the 
receivers.  "Will  notify  you  when  the  order  is 
signed,"  concluded  this  dispatch.  Two  days  later 
Gardwell  submitted  to  the  judge  the  papers  that 
he  had  brought  from  New  York.  This  was  done 
at  the  house,  for  the  judge  was  still  laid  up  with 
lumbago. 

"I  have  also  drawn  the  order,"  said  Gardwell, 
"  which  you  may  change  as  you  see  fit.  I  thought 
perhaps  it  would  save  you  some  labor.  Inasmuch 
as  you  are  somewhat  of  an  invalid,  I  took  the  lib- 
erty of  drawing  it  up  for  your  inspection." 

The  two  men  looked  over  the  papers  together, 
Gardwell  explaining  the  points  as  they  went  along. 
When  they  had  finished,  the  judge  spoke :  — 

"Well,  Gardwell,  I  don't  see  here  anything 
different  from  what  you  represented  to  me.  I  will 
certainly  sign  the  order  for  a  receivership.  Who 
would  you  suggest  as  a  receiver?" 

"Mr.  Bass  and  myself,"  answered  Gardwell, 
without  a  moment's  hesitation.  "He  is  familiar 
with  the  Eastern  branch  of  the  business,  and  I  of 
the  Western." 

"Well,"  said  the  judge  hesitatingly,  "will  that 
be  exactly  the  " 

"You  can  name  anyone  you  see  fit,"  interrupted 
Gardwell,  "but  in  any  case  they  will  have  to  come 
to  us  for  instructions.  If  others  are  named,  we 


236  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

shall  be  to  all  intents  and  purposes  the  actual 
receivers  and,  at  any  rate,  everything  will  be  done 
under  the  direction  of  the  court,  and  we  shall 
render  full  and  complete  reports  of  all  our  transac- 
tions. I  thought  the  straightforward  thing  to  do 
would  be  to  name  us." 

"Yes,  you  are  right,"  declared  the  judge.  "Of 
course  I  do  not  know  Mr.  Bass ;  but  if  you  can 
vouch  for  him,  that  will  be  sufficient  for  me." 

"I  vouch  for  him,"  Gardwell  replied  with  some 
emphasis. 

"Very  well,"  said  the  judge,  "then  I  will  sign 
the  order.  Present  the  petition,  and  I  will  sign 
the  order,  —  let  me  see,  this  is  Tuesday,  and  Black 
assures  me  that  I  can  be  at  court  on  Thursday,  — 
I  will  sign  it  on  Thursday  morning." 

"Very  good,"  said  Gardwell,  gathering  up  the 
papers  and  putting  them  into  his  pocket,  "let  us 
drop  the  matter  now,  and  not  discuss  it  any  fur- 
ther, for  it  does  you  no  good.  What  you  need  is 
rest  and  relaxation." 

Engrossed  though  he  was  with  a  daring  move 
which  involved  millions  of  dollars  and  which  meant 
everything  to  him,  Gardwell  found  time  to  see 
Harriet  and  her  mother.  He  had  brought  them 
presents  from  New  York,  and  after  disposing  of 
them  he  had  a  few  words  with  Harriet. 

"I  met  an  old  friend  of  yours  while  in  Wash- 
ington," he  said,  "Congressman  Emmersley." 

"Indeed!  Has  he  raised  a  Populist  beard,  and 
does  he  let  his  hair  grow  long?  "  asked  Harriet. 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  237 

"He  does  neither,"  answered  Gardwell;  "he  was 
a  very  fashionably  dressed  young  man,  and  I  am 
told  that  he  cuts  quite  a  figure  at  some  of  the  le- 
gation receptions." 

"The  idea!"  exclaimed  Harriet,  laughing  mer- 
rily. "He  was  such  a  clumsy  boy  when  I  knew 
him  in  Bowerville.  I  suppose  he  inquired  about 
us  all,  and  wanted  to  know  all  the  news,  like  a 
true  product  of  the  old  town?  " 

"On  the  contrary,"  replied  Gardwell,  "he  men- 
tioned none  of  the  family.  I  was  with  him  only 
a  moment  or  so.  I  saw  him  later,  driving  down 
the  street  in  a  carriage,  accompanied  by  a  young 
lady.  I  was  told  that  she  was  one  of  the  daugh- 
ters of  the  secretary  of  the  agricultural  bureau. 
You  know  there  is  an  affinity  between  a  Populist 
congressman  and  an  agricultural  product." 

"It  strikes  me,"  said  Harriet,  flaring  up  a  little, 
"that  Congressman  Emmersley  is  holding  his  own 
with  the  other  representatives  there.  By  the  way, 
what  is  the  name  of  the  congressman  from  this 
city?  I  haven't  seen  him  mentioned  very  often. 
You  see,"  she  coyly  added,  "I  am  loyal  to  Bower- 
ville." 

"Yes,"  thought  Gardwell,  after  bidding  her 
adieu,  "and  loyal  to  young  Emmersley,  too." 

On  Thursday  morning  Gardwell  wired  another 
cipher  to  Bass,  telling  him  that  the  petition  would 
be  granted  and  the  order  signed  at  ten  o'clock  that 
morning.  He  added  that  Bass  might  make  the 
matter  public  at  noon. 


238  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

But  just  as  the  judge  was  starting  for  court  that 
morning  he  was  taken  with  a  twinge  which  pros- 
trated him,  and  Dr.  Black  was  hurriedly  sent  for. 
The  doctor  at  once  ordered  that  the  judge  should 
not  attempt  to  go  to  court  for  several  days.  It 
was  ten  o'clock  when  Gardwell  learned  the  fact, 
and  he  at  once  hurried  to  the  house  of  the  judge 
and  represented  to  him  how  imperative  it  was  that 
he  be  at  court  to  sign  the  order. 

"But  I  can't  sit  up,"  groaned  the  judge.  "I 
feel  as  if  my  back  were  broken." 

"Will  you  go  to  the  court-room  and  sign  this 
order  if  I  have  that  pain  entirely  removed  from 
your  back,  even  if  it  is  only  a  temporary  removal?  " 
asked  Gardwell. 

"Why,  certainly,"  said  the  judge,  "if  I  can 
possibly  get  there  without  being  carried,  I  will  do 
so." 

"Very  well,"  said  Gardwell,  "I  will  be  back  in 
half  an  hour."  He  jumped  into  his  cab  and  hur- 
ried down  town,  returning  in  a  short  time  with  a 
well-known  Swedish  masseur. 

The  judge,  when  informed  what  sort  of  treat- 
ment he  was  to  undergo,  at  first  protested,  but 
finally  yielded  to  Gard well's  solicitations  and 
placed  himself  under  the  care  of  the  flesh  manipu- 
lator. Thanks  to  hard  rubbing,  the  judge  was 
able,  shortly  after  twelve  o'clock,  to  sit  up,  and, 
after  submitting  to  some  further  treatment,  to 
dress  himself  and  start  for  the  court-room.  In 
the  meantime  press  dispatches  coming  from  the 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  239 

East  had  announced  in  every  newspaper  office 
that  the  Trans -American  road  had  been  placed  in 
the  hands  of  a  receiver,  on  an  order  issued  by 
Judge  Tracy  Dunn. 

Gardwell  hustled  the  judge  down  to  the  court- 
room, and  shortly  before  two  o'clock  the  papers 
were  handed  out,  a  formal  motion  made,  and  in- 
side of  ten  minutes  the  whole  thing  was  done,  and 
Gardwell  and  Bass  were  in  full  control  of  the  road, 
subject  only  to  orders  from  the  judge  of  the  fed- 
eral court. 

The  news  created  a  sensation  all  over  the  coun- 
try. The  forces  of  Trine  were  furious  at  the 
outcome.  Several  papers  controlled  by  them  as- 
sailed the  judge,  but  he  had  the  satisfaction  of 
reading  in  his  home  papers  the  more  than  compli- 
mentary commendations  of  his  action.  So  that  he 
had  no  cause  to  repent  of  it,  and  his  confidence 
was  stronger  than  ever  in  Elliot  Gardwell's  discre- 
tion and  integrity. 

As  for  Gardwell,  a  great  load  was  lifted  from 
his  mind,  and  he  felt  the  jubilance  of  boyhood 
returning  to  him.  Congratulatory  telegrams  poured 
in  on  him  from  the  East,  and  newspaper  reporters 
besieged  him  for  interviews  regarding  the  condi- 
tion of  the  road.  There  was,  in  fact,  so  great  a 
transformation  in  the  man,  and  he  was  so  entirely 
unlike  his  former  self,  that  it  created  comment  at 
the  club.  He  was  gay,  laughed  on  the  slightest 
provocation,  and  talked  a  great  deal.  He  opened 
several  bottles  of  wine  with  Van  Tipple,  and  in 


240  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

every  way  acted  like  a  man  who  was  in  a  perfect 
ecstasy  of  delight.  The  judge,  also,  was  pleased. 
He  was  congratulated  at  the  club,  and  felt  as 
though  he  had  earned  the  approval  which  was 
everywhere  expressed. 

After  the  first  few  days  of  mild  celebration  over 
his  victory,  for  victory  it  was,  Gardwell  kept  very 
close  to  his  office,  for  he  knew  that  the  other  side 
would  soon  be  moving.  He  did  not  underestimate 
their  strength,  and  he  knew  them  to  be  both  cun- 
ning and  unscrupulous.  Bass  was  on  his  way 
West,  and  the  forces  of  Trine  were  hurrying  to 
the  scene  and  preparing  to  do  battle  in  Judge 
Dunn's  court.  Having  chosen  his  battle-ground, 
Gardwell  resolved  that  the  fight  should  not  under 
any  circumstances  be  taken  away  from  him,  and 
on  this  score  he  had  little  fear.  He  kept  close 
company  with  Judge  Dunn,  and  never  lost  an  op- 
portunity to  impress  upon  him  the  fact  that  Trine 
represented  millions  of  foreign  capital  which  was 
being  used  for  the  purpose  of  crushing  out  men  of 
smaller  means  and  less  extensive  resources.  The 
judge  grew  to  esteem  himself  quite  highly,  and 
this  esteem  was  in  no  whit  weakened  on  perusal  of 
the  press  clippings  with  which  Gardwell  daily 
supplied  him,  that  astute  gentleman  having  the 
forethought  to  always  remove  those  which  were 
written  in  an  unfriendly  spirit. 

The  lawyers  for  Trine  were  soon  on  the  ground, 
and  the  fight  was  begun.  It  is  not  necessary  to 
go  into  the  details  of  this  legal  struggle  in  its 


THE    FEDERAL    JUDGE  241 

early  stages;  suffice  it  to  say  that  Judge  Dunn 
was  firm  in  his  conviction  that  the  receivership 
was  necessary,  and  it  was  not  his  custom  to  modify 
his  decisions. 

The  Gardwell  and  Bass  faction  were  reinforced 
in  this  battle  by  a  famous  attorney  named  Skeener, 
but  it  is  doubtful  if  even  the  added  force  of  his 
legal  acumen  served  to  make  the  judge  one  whit 
firmer  in  the  stand  that  he  had  taken.  The  great 
lawyers  of  Gotham  thundered  and  roared  and 
wheedled  and  coaxed,  but  to  no  avail.  Judge 
Dunn  could  not  be  moved ;  Gardwell  was  trium- 
phant, and  the  annual  meeting  came  and  passed 
without  the  faction  which  held  the  majority  of  the 
stock  being  able  in  any  way  to  take  advantage  of 
their  holdings. 

Gardwell  and  Bass  now  began  laying  plans  for 
reaping  the  benefit  of  their  victory,  but  they  had 
not  proceeded  far  when  a  new  complication  arose, 
one  which  threatened  most  serious  consequences. 

For  some  time  there  had  been  discontent  among 
the  employees  of  the  great  road,  and  the  fire  which 
had  smouldered  so  long  bid  fair  to  burst  into  a 
flame  at  any  moment.  These  men  were  well  or- 
ganized in  labor  unions,  and  they  demanded  an 
advance  in  wages,  the  scale  paid  being  somewhat 
lower  than  that  on  many  Eastern  lines  and  the 
work  more  taxing  by  reason  of  the  rough  country 
through  which  the  road  extended.  Gardwell  had 
handled  these  men  for  years  with  consummate  skill, 
meeting  committee  after  committee,  and  being  lav- 


242  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

ish  with  promises.  But  the  time  was  fast  approach- 
ing when  promises  would  no  longer  avail.  To 
advance  the  wages  at  this  juncture  was  not  to  be 
thought  of,  as  it  would  so  increase  the  expenditure 
that  the  receivers  would  not  be  able  to  make  the 
showing  which  they  hoped.  On  the  other  hand, 
a  strike  would  be  a  costly  thing.  The  receivers 
were  at  that  time  unprepared  to  meet  one,  and 
were  not  in  shape  to  place  men  in  the  positions 
which  it  would  make  vacant. 

While  Gardwell  knew  that  he  guided  the  judge 
with  a  firm  rein,  so  far  as  the  path  marked  out  by 
him  was  concerned,  he  had  strong  doubts  as  to 
what  the  judge  might  do  in  case  he  came  to  deal 
directly  with  the  employees,  whose  demand  for 
higher  wages  might  strike  the  judge  as  being  rea- 
sonable. 

He  talked  the  matter  over  with  Skeener  and 
Bass  on  several  occasions,  but  they  were  unable  to 
reach  any  satisfactory  solution  of  the  difficulty 
until  suddenly,  at  the  last  consultation,  Gardwell 
jumped  up,  and,  snapping  his  fingers,  exclaimed :  — 

"Gentlemen,  I  have  it!     I  have  it!  " 

"Have  what?"  inquired  Skeener,  with  a  laugh. 
"I  wouldn't  be  surprised  if  you  said  you  had  the 
earth." 

"No,  it  wouldn't  be  surprising  if  I  claimed  it," 
replied  Gardwell,  laughing.  "But  it  was  you 
who  taught  me  to  claim  everything.  I  learned 
that  campaigning  with  you.  But  here  is  an  idea 
of  mine,  and  I  will  put  it  into  execution."  Gard- 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  243 

well  briefly  outlined  his  plan,  and  his  associates, 
though  not  over-confident  of  its  success,  agreed  to 
put  it  to  the  test. 

That  evening  when  Gardwell  called  upon  Judge 
Dunn,  he  adroitly  led  the  conversation  on  to  rail- 
road matters. 

"There  is  one  thing  that  causes  me  considerable 
grief  and  annoyance,"  he  said,  "and  that  is  the 
fact  that  discontent  and  dissensions  are  being 
aroused  among  our  men.  I  have  always  prided 
myself  on  the  fact  that  we  have  never  been  subject 
to  labor  troubles.  I  have  grown  to  look  upon  our 
great  army  of  employees  almost  as  members  of  my 
family." 

"Yes,"  the  judge  assented,  "I  have  noticed  in 
the  papers  that  there  seemed  to  be  some  discontent 
among  the  men,  and  I  intended  to  ask  you  about  it. 
Are  they  not  receiving  sufficient  wages?  " 

"They  are  getting  the  same  wages  that  they 
have  for  the  last  five  years,  and  until  now  there 
has  been  no  complaint,"  said  Gardwell.  "I  will 
be  frank  with  you.  I  have  information  that  leads 
me  to  believe  that  the  agents  of  the  Trine  fac- 
tion have  men  at  work  at  various  points  on  our 
line,  stirring  up  the  more  hotheaded  of  our  men 
to  open  rebellion.  It  is  not  the  fault  of  the  men 
themselves,  but  they  afe  influenced  and  led  astray 
by  these  agents  of  the  capitalists." 

"Why,  this  is  simply  infamous,"  put  in  the 
judge  hotly.  "I  think  it  is  a  matter  which  I 
should  inquire  into  at  once." 


244  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

"And  yet  I  hardly  see  how  you  can  reach  it," 
said  Gardwell.  "It  is  a  matter  which  the  receiv- 
ers will  have  to  handle  and  report  upon  to  you  for 
instructions.  If  it  were  not  for  these  outside  in- 
fluences, I  have  no  doubt  but  I  would  get  along 
with  the  men  as  well  as  I  always  have.  As  it  is, 
matters  are  somewhat  complicated,  and  I  may  be 
compelled  to  call  upon  you." 

"Do  so  at  once,"  advised  the  judge,  "and  I  will 
render  you  any  assistance  in  my  power.  It  is  ter- 
rible to  contemplate  the  depth  to  which  men  will 
sink  in  their  chase  for  money.  What  can  be  more 
infamous?  If  what  you  tell  me  is  true,  here  are 
men  who,  for  the  sake  of  getting  their  hands  on 
something  that  does  not  belong  to  them,  and  add- 
ing millions  of  wealth  to  their  already  accumulated 
millions,  are  willing  to  plunge  thousands  of  toiling 
men  into  a  struggle  which  will  inevitably  bring 
their  families  to  suffering  and  perhaps  destitution. 
I  tell  you,  Mr.  Gardwell,  it  is  infamous,  and  I 
believe  the  time  is  not  far  distant  when  men  of 
that  stripe,  men  who  attempt  to  arouse  dissension 
in  our  country,  will  be  compelled  to  bend  to  laws 
which  shall  be  passed  to  govern  them.  Class  leg- 
islation is  needed  to  control  them  and  to  govern 
corporations." 

"Yes,"  Gardwell  admitted,  "the  farther  I  get 
into  this,  the  more  clearly  I  see  that  you  were  right 
in  your  positions  when  we  have  argued  these  mat- 
ters from  time  to  time  before." 


CHAPTER  XIX 

IN  spite  of  all  of  Gardwell's  efforts,  matters 
were  drawing  nearer  and  nearer  to  a  crisis.  That 
crisis  came  when  the  union  leaders  sent  an  ultima- 
tum to  the  receivers,  notifying  them  that  in  case 
wages  were  not  raised  by  a  certain  time,  every 
man  on  the  line  would  be  called  out  on  a  strike. 
Bass,  Skeener  and  Gardwell  had  held  many  con- 
sultations, and  when  they  met  to  consider  this  ulti- 
matum the  crisis  was  past. 

"Gentlemen,"  said  Gardwell  quietly,  "let  us 
get  down  to  business  at  once.  There  will  be  no 
strike." 

"What!"  exclaimed  Bass,  "do  you  mean  to 
accede  to  these  demands?  Why,  it  means  ruin; 
I  will  never  consent  to  it." 

"I  did  not  say  that,"  replied  Gardwell.  "I 
simply  said  that  there  would  be  no  strike,  and 
there  will  not,  at  least,  not  until  we  are  ready  to 
meet  one." 

"And  pray,  how  do  you  mean  to  perform  this 
miracle?  "  asked  Bass,  with  something  like  a  sneer. 

"By  injunction,"  said  Gardwell  quietly.  "I 
mean,"  he  continued,  rising  and  beginning  to  walk 
back  and  forth,  "that  we  will  secure  an  order  from 
the  court  enjoining  the  men  from  striking  or  quit- 


246  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

ting  the  employ  of  the  road.  Further  than  that, 
I  will  make  it  more  sweeping,  and  enjoin  the  lead- 
ers from  influencing  our  men  or  advising  them  to 
quit.  Cannot  a  court  enjoin  a  person  from  com- 
mitting an  act  which  will  entail  great  loss  to  prop- 
erty? And  will  not  this  strike  entail  great  loss  to 
our  company,  to  the  stockholders,  the  bondholders, 
and  every  one  interested  in  it?  " 

"  It  is  a  new  proposition,"  answered  Skeener, 
"and  I  doubt  very  much  if  it  will  hold." 

"It  will  hold  long  enough  to  suit  our  purposes," 
interrupted  Gardwell,  snapping  his  fingers  as  he 
paced  up  and  down  the  floor.  "A  delay  of  thirty 
days  will  place  us  in  a  position  where  we  can  meet 
this  strike  in  a  way  in  which  we  cannot  face  it 
now." 

"But  will  the  judge  issue  such  an  injunction?" 
inquired  Bass.  "Will  he  dare  to  do  it?" 

"Judge  Dunn  dares  to  do  anything  which  he 
thinks  is  right,"  replied  Gardwell.  "Leave  the 
matter  to  me  as  you  did  on  the  original  receiver- 
ship, and  I  think  I  can  assure  you  that  the  injunc- 
tion will  be  granted.  When  can  we  draw  the 
papers?"  he  asked,  turning  to  Skeener. 

"To-morrow;  we  will  get  together  to-morrow, 
and  you  can  outline  what  you  want." 

"Very  well,"  said  Gardwell,  "we  will  draw  the 
order,  as  well  as  the  petition." 

That  evening  Gardwell  spent  two  hours  with 
the  judge  in  the  butterfly  study,  discussing  a  the- 
ory recently  advanced  by  a  German  entomologist. 


THE   FEDERAL    JUDGE  247 

Just  as  he  was  leaving,  he  took  occasion  to  say 
that  the  discontent  among  the  men  was  growing 
serious,  and  that  in  his  opinion  a  strike  should  be 
prevented  at  all  hazards. 

"By  all  means,"  cried  the  judge.  "By  all 
means.  There  must  not  be  a  strike,  and  there 
shall  be  none  if  I  can  prevent  it." 

"  I  think  the  best  way  will  be  to  throw  the  mat- 
ter into  your  hands  if  the  worst  comes,"  said  Gard- 
well.  "At  any  rate,  I  will  report  to  you  oft'  and 
on.  I  do  not  anticipate  any  trouble  for  a  week 
or  so;  still, 'there  is  no  telling  what  may  happen. 
Trine 's  people  are  hard  at  work,  and  they  are 
bound  to  cripple  us  if  they  can,  by  fair  means  or 
foul." 

The  following  afternoon  Gardwell,  Bass  and 
Skeener  went  over  the  papers  which  had  been 
drawn  by  the  latter. 

"This  is  a  very  sweeping  clause,"  said  Skeener, 
shaking  his  head,  "but  I  will  leave  it  in  if  you 
insist  on  it,  Mr.  Gardwell." 

"Kead  it  again,"  said  Gardwell.  Skeener  read 
as  follows :  — 

" '  It  is  strictly  charged  and  commanded  that  you 
do  absolutely  refrain  from  combining  and  conspir- 
ing to  quit,  with  or  without  notice,  the  service  of 
the  road,  and  from  interfering  with  the  agents  or 
employees  of  the  receivers  in  any  manner,  by  act- 
ual violence,  intimidation,  or  otherwise. ' ' 

Gar  dwell' s  face  was  set  during  the  reading,  and 
the  ridge  extended  from  his  nose  up  through  the 


248  THE    FEDERAL   JUDGE 

centre  of  his  forehead.  When  the  reading  was 
finished  there  was  silence  for  a  few  moments,  which 
he  was  the  first  to  break. 

"Yes,  let  it  go.  It  must  be  something  sweeping 
in  order  to  impress  the  men  with  the  fact  that  they 
cannot  quit.  It  may  not  stand  eventually,  but  it 
will  tide  us  over,  and  this  is  a  time  when  we  have 
got  to  pull  through  or  be  lost." 

"Gardwell,"  said  Skeener  as  they  were  breaking 
up  for  the  evening,  "  I  want  to  ask  you  one  ques- 
tion. I  believe  you  told  me  that  Judge  Dunn  was 
a  good  lawyer." 

"Well,  he  is,"  decisively. 

"Then  let  me  ask  you  how  you  can  think  for 
a  moment  that  he  will  issue  this  injunction." 

"You  will  see  to-morrow,"  replied  Gardwell. 
"Meet  me  here  at  four  o'clock  sharp." 

That  evening  Gardwell  made  himself  conspicu- 
ous at  the  club,  and  did  not  make  his  usual  call 
at  the  Dunn  residence. 

He  was  at  his  desk  bright  and  early  the  next 
morning,  and  had  hardly  seated  himself  before 
telegrams  began  pouring  in.  He  answered  them 
as  fast  as  they  came,  and  the  company's  wires  were 
kept  hot  carrying  the  messages  back  and  forth. 
There  were  alarming  reports.  The  men  were 
about  to  strike.  The  order  to  quit  was  about  to 
be  issued.  It  was  a  diplomatic  battle  for  time, 
and  at  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  Gardwell  had 
received  a  final  telegram,  notifying  him  that  unless 
the  company  acceded  to  the  terms  of  the  men, 


THE  FEDERAL  JUDGE  249 

every  man  on  the  line  would  be  called  out  the  next 
morning. 

"  We  are  now  ready,  gentlemen,  to  go  into  court 
and  get  that  injunction,"  said  Gardwell,  at  four 
o'clock,  addressing  his  associates.  "Let  us  go 
and  see  Judge  Dunn;  but  wait,  he  does  not  ad- 
journ court  until  five  o'clock,  and  five  minutes 
before  five  will  be  the  proper  time." 

The  interval  was  spent  in  conversation,  a  few 
jokes  were  cracked,  and  Gardwell  was  in  the  best 
of  spirits.  A  few  minutes  before  five  o'clock  he 
reached  for  his  hat  and  said,  "  Gentlemen,  let  us 
be  going." 

The  judge  was  alone  in  his  chambers  when  the 
three  gentlemen  entered. 

"Your  honor,"  began  Gardwell,  handing  him 
the  telegram,  "I  have  just  received  this  message, 
notifying  me  that  the  employees  of  the  Trans- 
American  road,  which  is  in  the  hands  of  your 
court,  are  about  to  go  out  on  a  strike,  crippling 
the  road  and  entailing  a  loss  of  thousands  and 
thousands  of  dollars." 

"Well,  well,"  exclaimed  the  judge,  "this  is  too 
bad!  It  is  somewhat  unexpected,  is  it  not?  Can- 
not something  be  done?" 

"The  remedy  is  in  your  power,"  said  Skeener, 
advancing,  "and  I  hold  it  here.  It  is  a  petition 
for  an  injunction  restraining  the  men  from  striking 
until  there  can  be  an  examination  into  the  condi- 
tion of  affairs." 

"There  is  no  time  to  lose,"  pleaded  Gardwell, 
looking  at  his  watch. 


250  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

The  judge  took  the  papers  and  began  to  scan 
them  over. 

"Who  drew  these  papers?  "  he  asked. 

"I  did,"  replied  Skeener,  "and  I  can  assure 
you  they  are  carefully  drawn.  I  have  also  drawn 
the  order,  you  will  notice." 

"Have  you  looked  these  papers  over  carefully, 
Mr.  Gardwell?"  continued  the  judge. 

"Yes,  your  honor;  and  I  have  found  them 
strictly  correct  in  every  particular." 

"Well,"  said  the  judge  in  a  hesitating  manner, 
"perhaps  I  had  better  examine  them  to-night.  I 
may  wish  to  alter  the  phraseology  some,  and  I  do 
not  like  to  be  too  hasty  in  a  matter  of  this  impor- 
tance." 

"Your  honor,"  began  Gardwell  impressively,  "it 
will  then  be  too  late.  This  came  upon  us  unex- 
pectedly, and  we  have  presented  our  petition  at 
the  earliest  possible  moment.  We  implore  you 
to  sign  this  order  at  once.  I  can  assure  you  that 
it  is  correct  in  every  particular.  I  have  never 
asked  a  favor  of  this  court  before,  but  I  deem  it 
imperative  that  this  be  signed  at  once."  He  spoke 
earnestly  and  leaned  forward,  with  his  glittering 
eyes  fixed  on  the  judge.  Skeener  and  Bass  also 
joined  in  the  plea. 

Mechanically  the  judge  reached  for  his  pen  and 
signed  the  order.  "I  have  implicit  confidence  in 
you,  Mr.  Gardwell,"  he  said,  "or  I  should  not 
sign  this  now;  however,  I  will  take  the  petition 
home  with  me  to-night  and  look  it  over." 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  251 

With  the  order  in  their  possession,  Gardwell 
and  his  associates  hastened  away. 

The  next  day  a  thrill  went  over  the  land  when 
it  was  announced  that  Judge  Tracy  Dunn,  of  Mai- 
ton,  had  issued  an  injunction  from  the  federal 
court  restraining  the  men  from  quitting  and  from 
advising  and  inciting  others  to  quit  the  employ  of 
the  Trans -American  road.  The  injunction  had  its 
effect,  and  not  a  man  left  his  post.  Yes;  one 
man,  an  engineer,  way  up  on  a  siding,  near  Bil- 
lings, Montana. 

"The  die  is  cast,"  shouted  Gardwell,  clapping 
Bass  on  the  back.  "Judge  Dunn  is  in  too  far  to 
retreat  now,  and  before  the  long  battle  is  decided 
in  the  courts,  we  will  be  masters  of  the  situation 
and  control  the  Trans -American.  We  have  won 
the  good  fight." 

The  next  instant  he  grew  pale,  and,  sinking  into 
a  chair,  buried  his  face  in  his  hands,  and  began  to 
sob  like  a  child. 

"My  God!"  cried  Bass,  "what  is  the  matter 
with  you,  man  ?  "  Gardwell  looked  up,  and,  laugh- 
ing hysterically,  exclaimed,  "See!  it's  the  Black 
Witch !  —  Erebus  odor  a  !  —  Magnificent !  "  His 
muscles  began  suddenly  to  relax,  his  eyelids  gently 
closed,  and  the  next  moment  he  was  unconscious. 

"It  was  a  narrow  escape,"  snarled  Dr.  Black  to 
Bass  an  hour  later,  "but  I  have  been  expecting  it 
for  some  time.  I  've  told  him  repeatedly  that  he 
would  break  down  if  he  kept  up  this  strain,  but 
he  has  paid  no  heed  to  me.  I  've  seen  them  go 


252  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

before,  and  he  will  go  the  same  way  unless  he 
takes  a  rest." 

"Well,  there  is  nothing  to  hinder  him  from 
taking  a  rest  now,"  replied  Bass,  "but  perhaps  he 
had  better  stick  it  out  for  a  few  days  longer,  and 
I  will  keep  him  as  quiet  as  possible." 

"Very  well,"  snapped  Black,  "but  I  will  not  be 
responsible  for  the  consequences." 

"At  any  rate,"  said  Bass,  "this  matter  must  be 
kept  very  quiet." 

"There  is  no  danger  of  its  leaking  out  through 
me,"  replied  Black,  with  some  asperity.  "I  do 
not  belong  to  the  school  of  physicians  who  tell 
their  professional  secrets  to  their  wives.  But  I 
warn  you  that  you  cannot  keep  too  close  a  watch 
on  him.  There  is  no  telling  what  may  happen." 

Away  up  on  a  lonely  siding  where  the  sage  brush 
grew  close  to  the  iron  trail  of  the  Trans-American, 
a  newspaper  was  thrown  into  the  cab  of  an  east- 
bound  engine.  The  fireman  unrolled  it  and  handed 
it  to  the  engineer,  who  was  sitting  in  his  cab.  A 
burly  man  was  this  engineer,  with  a  close-cut 
beard,  keen  blue  eyes,  and  a  massive  frame.  His 
eyes  kindled  when  he  read  the  head-lines  in  the 
paper:  "Judge  Dunn  Acts!  Issues  an  Injunction 
Restraining  the  Employees  of  the  Trans-American 
from  Striking."  The  blood  came  to  his  face  as  he 
read  on  until,  suddenly  dashing  the  paper  down, 
he  reached  for  his  coat  and  with  an  oath  ex- 
claimed :  — 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  253 

"The  second  time,  by  God!  " 

"What  are  you  going  to  do,  Tom?"  cried  the 
fireman. 

"Quit,"  replied  the  engineer.  "Quit  right 
here,"  and  with  that  he  jumped  from  the  steps  of 
his  cab  to  the  ground.  The  fireman  glanced  over 
the  paper  and  shook  his  head. 

"I  am  sorry  I  cannot  follow  you,  Tom,"  he  said, 
"but  you  don't  catch  me  fooling  with  Uncle  Sam." 

"All  right,"  returned  the  engineer,  "I  don't 
ask  you  to  follow  me,  and  perhaps  it 's  best  for 
you  to  stay  where  you  are,  but  I  '11  obey  no  man 
when  he  's  dead  wrong,  wrong  as  h — 1  for  the  sec- 
ond time,  whether  he  is  the  federal  judge  or  — 
no  matter  who  he  is." 

The  wires  flashed  the  news  that  an  engine  had 
been  deserted,  and  by  sundown  the  strong  arm  of 
the  United  States  government  had  reached  for- 
ward, and  Tom  Dunn  was  under  arrest,  charged 
with  contempt  of  court  in  having  failed  to  comply 
with  the  conditions  of  the  injunction  issued  by  the 
judge  of  the  federal  bench. 


CHAPTER  XX 

THE  hue  and  cry  that  arose  over  the  strike  in- 
junction soon  made  a  clamor  that  was  unpleasant 
music  to  the  ears  of  all  who  had  been  connected 
with  it,  and  the  old  judge  awoke  to  the  fact  that 
he  had  done  something  decidedly  out  of  the  ordi- 
nary. The  day  after  the  issuance  of  that  order  he 
had  read  the  "Morning  Watchman"  and  felt  a 
glow  of  pride  in  the  perusal  of  a  short  editorial 
commending  him  for  his  promptness  and  decision 
in  dealing  with  a  lawless  body  of  men  who  were 
about  to  inflict  great  damage  to  property  and  im- 
peril the  welfare  of  the  country.  He  did  not  see 
Gardwell  for  several  days,  and  he  continued  to 
read  the  "Watchman  "  and  the  "Daily  Day  Book," 
which  puffed  him  in  unmeasured  terms  for  having 
issued  the  injunction,  for  Gardwell  had  convalesced 
sufficiently  to  enable  him  to  send  for  Skeener  and 
instruct  that  gentleman  in  certain  moves  calculated 
to  get  a  good  press  support  for  the  stand  which 
they  had  taken.  In  the  meantime  Bass  was  bend- 
ing every  energy  toward  reaping  the  advantage 
which  the  relief  from  danger'  of  a  strike  afforded 
him.  Judge  Dunn  pursued  the  even  tenor  of  his 
way,  and  at  the  club  was  the  recipient  of  many 
warm  congratulations  from  the -men  of  wealth  who 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  255 

were  now  his  associates.  But  a  rude  awakening- 
came.  He  chanced  to  pick  up  a  Chiopolis  paper 
one  evening,  and  glancing  at  the  editorial  page 
saw  that  the  leader  was  on  the  strike  injunction. 
It  was  from  the  pen  of  one  of  the  most  scathing 
writers  of  the  West,  and  from  the  first  line  to  the 
last  it  flayed  the  judge  without  mercy. 

He  tossed  the  paper  aside  impatiently.  But  he 
could  not  thus  easily  dispose  of  his  thoughts ;  and 
as  the  phrases  which  had  annoyed  him  were  one 
by  one  recalled,  he  burned  with  indignation :  "  A 
tool  of  corporations,"  "a  man  Friday  for  the 
Money  Power,"  "the  enemy  of  the  working-man," 
and  "an  usurper  of  the  sovereign  rights  of  the 
people."  What  a  libel!  And  yet,  he  thought, 
the  language  of  the  order  was  a  little  strong,  per- 
haps. He  would  read  it  over  again.  Perhaps  he 
should  have  read  it  himself  before  signing  it.  But 
then  he  thought  of  the  millions  at  stake  and  of  the 
irreparable  loss  that  would  have  been  caused  by 
a  strike  just  at  that  time.  No ;  he  had  done  the 
right  thing,  and  first  of  all  it  was  his  duty  to  pro- 
tect the  property  of  which  he  had  made  himself 
guardian.  Furthermore,  the  employees  were  an 
ignorant  rabble,  urged  on  to  destruction  by  schem- 
ing millionaires  on  the  one  hand  and  frothing  dem- 
agogues on  the  other,  —  men  of  the  Emmersley 
stamp.  Elliot  Gardwell  was  their  friend,  and  he 
had  merely  assisted  him  in  protecting  them  from 
their  enemies.  Besides,  had  he  not  been  congratu- 
lated on  his  stand  by  all  the  leading  men  of  the 


256  THE    FEDERAL   JUDGE 

city,  men  of  the  very  highest  standing?  He  re- 
solved to  stand  by  his  colors,  and  in  no  way  recede 
from  his  position.  But  he  longed  to  see  Gard- 
well.  He  was  weary,  that  night,  and  slept  but 
little,  being  haunted  by  a  vague  fear  of  he  knew 
not  what. 

The  recovery  of  Gardwell  was  as  quick  as  his 
prostration  had  been  sudden.  He  was  at  Judge 
Dunn's  house  early  the  morning  after  the  judge 
had  been  startled  by  the  Chiopolis  paper,  and 
Harriet  thought  that  she  had  never  seen  him  look- 
ing so  youthful  and  so  handsome.  He  was  in  the 
best  of  spirits,  and  greeted  the  judge  with  a  boy- 
ish exuberance  which  prompted  him  to  remark :  — 

"Why,  Gardwell,  I  must  congratulate  you  on 
your  sickness.  I  never  saw  you  looking  so  well." 

"I  never  felt  better,"  replied  Gardwell,  "and 
let  me  congratulate  you  on  the  widespread  approval 
that  has  been  accorded  your  injunction.  It  is 
hailed  as  a  new  discovery,  a  discovery  that  has 
saved  thousands  of  dollars'  worth  of  property  in 
this  instance,  and  would  have  saved  untold  mil- 
lions and  many  lives  if  it  had  been  discovered 
before.  It  is  a  sure  cure  for  strikes.  It  has 
made  •  you  famous,  and  has  met  with  the  approval 
of  all  the  leading  jurists  of  the  country." 

"You  are  a  trifle  too  enthusiastic,"  interrupted 
the  judge. 

"Not  a  bit  of  it,"  continued  Gardwell.  "Your 
position  will  be  sustained,  and  the  ultimate  result 
will  be  to  add  stability  to  our  whole  industrial 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  257 

system.  Of  course  you  will  be  assailed  from  vari- 
ous sources,  but  the  better  element  of  the  country 
will  be  with  you.  Again  allow  me  to  congratulate 
you.  My  only  regret  is  that  I  cannot  claim  the 
honor  of  having  discovered  you  and  aided  in  pla- 
cing you  on  the  bench.  The  time  has  come  for 
drastic  measures  in  dealing  with  the  laboring 
classes,  led  as  they  are  by  dangerous  demagogues 
and  anarchistic  leaders.  Where  would  the  coun- 
try be  if  it  were  not  for  capital,  and  if  riot  were 
left  to  run  loose  in  the  land  and  dictate  to  employ- 
ers what  they  should  do  with  their  money?  A 
strong  man  was  needed  by  the  country  and  he 
came,  just  as  Lincoln  came,  when  he  was  needed. 
The  name  of  Judge  Dunn  will  be  remembered." 

This  was  so  unlike  anything  that  the  judge  had 
ever  heard  from  Gardwell's  lips,  and  Gard well's 
manner  was  so  different  from  what  it  always  had 
been  in  his  presence,  that  the  judge  listened  to  it 
all  with  varied  emotions.  At  the  conclusion,  how- 
ever, he  took  the  hand  that  Gardwell  extended 
and  said,  with  a  pleased  smile :  — 

"  Well,  well,  I  hope  you  are  right.  But  I  be- 
gan to  think  I  had  gone  a  little  too  far,  perhaps. 
But  as  you  say  property  and  the  legitimate  inter- 
ests of  capital  must  be  protected  if  we  are  to  have 
peace  and  prosperity  in  this  country." 

So  strong  had  grown  the  influence  of  Gardwell 
that  from  that  moment  there  were  no  further 
doubts  in  the  judge's  mind,  and,  being  thus  reas- 
sured of  the  rectitude  and  justice  of  his  act,  he 


258  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

easily  lapsed  again  into  the  calm  mood  that  was 
habitual  with  him. 

Gard well's  high  spirits  as  exhibited  on  this  occa- 
sion did  not  leave  him.  It  was  as  if  the  man  had 
undergone  a  transformation,  and  his  intimate  asso- 
ciates, Bass,  Skeener,  and  the  rest  of  them,  mar- 
veled greatly.  His  capacity  for  work  seemed 
unlimited,  and  he  took  up  the  complicated  skein 
of  business  manipulation  where  he  had  dropped  it, 
and  proceeded  to  get  it  in  order  with  incredible 
rapidity.  As  receiver  he  had  every  detail  of  the 
great  system  at  his  fingers'  ends,  and  he  made 
daring  moves  for  a  golden  harvest  that  was  to  fall 
into  the  laps  of  himself  and  his  companions.  And 
through  it  all  he  was  light-hearted  and  gay  to  a 
degree  that  shocked  some  of  the  staid  clerks  who 
had  been  with  him  for  years. 

There  were  clouds  gathering  on  the  horizon ;  but 
when  Skeener  and  Bass  pointed  them  out,  he  re- 
fused to  see  them,  and  laughed  at  their  fears. 
The  popular  feeling  against  the  injunction  was 
growing,  and  a  storm  was  fast  approaching  which 
threatened  before  long  to  break  over  the  heads  of 
Judge  Dunn  and  the  receivers.  But  Gard  well 
laughed. 

One  afternoon  he  closed  his  desk  earlier  than 
usual,  and  went  to  the  club.  He  took  a  light 
lunch  and  washed  it  down  with  a  bottle  of  wine. 
He  sat  at  the  table  for  a  long  time,  lost  in  thought. 
Suddenly  he  snapped  his  fingers  and,  starting  up, 
exclaimed,  "The  time  has  come!  " 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  259 

He  called  a  cab  and,  as  he  entered  it,  said  to 
the  driver :  — 

"Drive  me  out  on  the  bay  road  as  far  as  you 
like,  only  get  me  to  Judge  Dunn's  house  at  eight 
o'clock.  Here,  let  me  pay  you  in  advance." 
And  he  handed  the  cabman  a  five-dollar  bill. 

Promptly  at  eight  o'clock  the  cab  stopped  be- 
fore Judge  Dunn's  house,  and  before  the  driver 
could  get  down  from  his  seat  his  passenger  had 
thrown  back  the  door,  sprung  out,  and  was  going 
up  the  steps  three  at  a  time.  A  moment  later  he 
was  inside  the  house,  and  he  and  Harriet  were 
alone  in  the  parlor. 

In  after  years  Harriet  confessed  that  she  had 
no  distinct  recollection  of  anything  that  occurred 
at  this  interview ;  it  was  as  if  it  were  all  a  dream. 
When  the  girl  first  looked  at  Gar  dwell,  she  half 
recoiled  from  him,  but  he  sprang  forward  and 
grasped  her  hands.  His  dark  eyes  blazed ;  there 
was  a  smile  on  his  eager  face,  and  he  labored 
under  the  highest  nerve  tension.  Without  a  mo- 
ment's hesitation  or  a  word  of  introduction,  Elliot 
Gardwell  poured  out  his  love.  The  words  came 
swiftly  from  his  lips,  burning  words,  yet  spoken 
with  indescribable  tenderness  mingled  with  a  cer- 
tain tone  of  authority.  Harriet  felt  herself  grow- 
ing faint,  and  yet  drawn  to  him  by  an  irresistible 
power.  She  heard  the  words,  "Harriet,  will  you 
be  my  wife? "  and  she  knew  that  she  answered 
uYes,"  and  felt  his  arms  around  her.  That  was 
all,  and  the  next  thing  she  realized  was  that  she 


260  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

was  standing  with  Elliot  Gard well's  arms  around 
her,  her  head  resting  on  his  breast,  and  tears  were 
falling  from  her  eyes.  He  stroked  her  forehead 
for  a  moment,  and  then  led  her  to  a  sofa.  As 
she  sank  upon  it,  he  stooped  to  kiss  her  forehead, 
and  murmured,  "  Good-night,  my  darling,  —  my 
wife!  "  and  was  gone. 

Harriet  staggered  up  to  her  room,  and,  throw- 
ing herself  on  her  couch,  sobbed,  "God  forgive 
me.  What  have  I  done?"  But  she  knew  she 
had  promised  to  be  Elliot  Gard  well's  wife. 

Gardwell  went  directly  to  the  club,  where  he 
knew  that  the  judge  had  an  engagement  at  whist. 

"Judge,"  he  said,  when  the  game  was  finished, 
"I  will  walk  home  with  you.  I  have  something  I 
wish  to  say  to  you." 

Gar  dwell 's  heart  and  mind  were  too' full  to  long 
withhold  what  he  had  to  say.  Scarcely  had  the 
two  men  emerged  from  the  club,  when  he  ex- 
claimed: "Judge  Dunn,  you  can  make  me  the 
most  happy  or  the  most  miserable  man  in  the 
world.  You  can  do  it  with  one  word." 

"Gardwell,  I  would  not  make  you  the  most 
miserable  man  in  the  world  for  the  world,"  replied 
the  judge,  putting  his  arm  through  Gardwell' s. 

"Judge  Dunn,  I  want  your  daughter  for  my 
wife.  I  ask  your  consent." 

"My  consent  you  may  have  with  all  my  heart," 
exclaimed  the  judge  warmly,  "but  Harriet  is  the 
one  who  "  — 

"You  have  made  me  the  happiest  man  in  the 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  261 

world,"  interrupted  Gardwell;  "I  have  Harriet's 
answer  already." 

He  grasped  the  judge's  hand,  and  wrung  it 
heartily. 

"Excuse  me,"  he  cried,  "for  bidding  you  good- 
night so  abruptly,  but  I  am  too  happy  to  talk," 
and  he  turned  and  dashed  down  the  street. 

"Humph!"  ejaculated  the  judge.  "It  makes 
'em  all  crazy.  Even  a  man  like  Gardwell." 

"My  dear,"  said  the  judge,  advancing  to  meet 
Harriet  as  she  came  into  the  dining-room  the  next 
morning,  "you  have  my  blessing.  I  saw  Mr. 
Gardwell  last  evening  after  he  left  you." 

"Thank  you,  papa,"  replied  Harriet.  Then  she 
threw  herself  into  his  arms  and  began  to  sob. 

"There,  there,"  consoled  the  judge,  with  a  sus- 
picion of  moisture  in  his  eyes,  "I  am  as  happy 
over  it  as  you  are,  but  I  don't  cry.  Your  mother 
will  be  delighted  when  she  hears  of  it.  I  will 
write  her  at  once,"  for  Mrs.  Dunn  was  at  Bower- 
ville,  whither  she  had  been  called  by  the  illness  of 
a  sister. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

THERE  was  a  quickening  in  the  current  of  events 
from  this  time  on,  and  they  came  so  fast  and 
moved  with  such  an  irresistible  precision  that 
Gardwell  was  unable  to  shape  them  to  his  ends.  A 
great  change  had  come  over  him,  a  change  that 
caused  his  more  intimate  associates  no  little  appre- 
hension, and  which  they  were  unable  to  account 
for.  His  light-heartedness  and  volubility  were  in 
striking  contrast  with  his  former  habits,  both  of 
speech  and  deportment.  He  greeted  his  subordi- 
nates with  a  familiarity  that  sent  cold  chills  creep- 
ing down  their  backs,  and  he  developed  a  spirit  of 
liberality  which  made  itself  felt  in  a  general  raise 
of  salaries  all  around,  and  in  contributions  to 
every  applicant  for  charity,  contributions  that  never 
fell  short  of  three  figures.  With  Bass  and  Skeener 
he  adopted  a  good-natured  air  of  easy  superiority, 
and  he  refused  to  seriously  discuss  the  complica- 
tions which  they  saw  arising  in  connection  with 
the  receivership  and  the  strike  injunction.  New 
schemes  were  in  his  mind,  gigantic  undertakings 
which  he  spoke  of  carrying  out  as  if  they  were 
trifles  as  easy  and  certain  of  accomplishment  as 
the  purchase  of  a  Chicago  alderman  or  a  dead 
butterfly.  On  several  occasions  he  hinted  to 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  263 

Skeener  and  Bass  that  he  had  a  great  secret  which 
he  would  soon  reveal  to  them. 

"Oh,  my  friends,"  he  said,  "if  you  knew  what 
I  do,  you  would  feel  as  happy  as  I  do.  It  will 
settle  everything,  and  my  receivership  will  be  for 
life." 

The  great  change  in  Gar d well's  manner  was 
hardly  as  noticeable  to  the  judge  as  to  his  business 
associates,  for  he  had  never  seen  him  excepting  on 
dress  parade,  before  the  footlights,  as  it  were, 
playing  the  part  which  he  had  chosen  to  act  when 
the  judge  or  his  family  were  in  the  audience.  But 
it  was  a  change,  nevertheless,  and  as  such  pleased 
the  old  jurist  as  much  as  it  displeased  his  associ- 
ates. He  never  missed  an  evening,  and  so  tender 
and  chivalric  were  his  attentions  to  Harriet  that 
she  could  not  be  insensible  to  their  force ;  and  had 
not  the  poor  young  woman's  heart  still  felt  the 
pull  of  the  tendrils  that  Bob  Emmersley's  love 
had  attached  to  it  in  the  old  country  home,  there 
is  little  doubt  but  she  would  have  been  as  ardent 
as  he.  As  it  was,  she  scarce  knew  her  true  feel- 
ings. She  thought  him  tender  and  kind  and  true, 
and  doubted  not  but  he  loved  her  devotedly ;  and 
what  woman  can  be  long  cold  to  the  homage  of  a 
man  whom  she  thus  rates?  Like  a  seed  that  is 
planted  in  rich  soil,  warmed  under  a  glass  and 
watered,  whether  the  skies  give  down  or  not,  until 
it  soon  outstrips  its  hardy  but  older  brother  com- 
pelled to  buffet  the  storms  which  nature  prepares 
for  all  that  lives,  be  it  of  the  vegetable  or  the 


264  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

animal  kingdom,  so  the  seed  of  love  began  to  grow 
in  her  heart,  warmed  by  the  sunshine  of  Elliot 
Gardwell's  affection  and  nourished  by  the  approval 
of  her  father  and  mother,  whom  she  dearly  loved. 
Like  the  dissolving  views  of  the  stereopticon,  which 
fade  until  the  white  canvas  all  but  shows,  while 
another  picture  appears,  her  vision  of  Bob  Em- 
mersley  grew  fainter  and  fainter,  and  in  its  place 
came  the  dark  and  handsome  face  of  Gardwell, 
with  the  strange  light  in  the  eyes  which  fascinated 
and  enthralled  her.  And  there  is  small  doubt  but 
that,  after  the  first  outburst  of  grief,  she  would 
have  thrown  herself  into  the  arms  of  Gardwell  and 
been  happy  all  the  days  of  her  life.  And  if  any 
one  has  doubts  of  this,  or  feels  a  certain  shame 
for  this  young  woman,  he  has  but  to  consult  any 
work  on  human  anatomy,  where  he  may  learn  that 
hearts  are  made  the  same,  be  they  in  widows  or 
maids,  and  heaven  knows  there  are  many  that 
were  widows  in  whose  eyes  there  have  not  been 
tears  for  many  a  long  season. 

Gardwell  was  as  romantic  in  his  love  as  any 
stripling  that  ever  burned  with  the  divine  fire,  and 
it  was  one  of  his  conceits  to  present  Harriet  with 
a  phonograph,  in  order  that  he  might  communicate 
with  her  by  voice,  even  if  he  were  not  with  her. 

"I  have  not  written  a  letter  for  so  long,  my 
dear,"  he  said,  "that  to  me  it  is  a  lost  art.  It  is 
not  alone  the  words,  but  it  is  the  voice  that  tells 
the  story  of  the  heart.  I  could  not  write  to  you, 
darling,  but  in  case  I  were  called  away  to  the 


THE  FEDERAL  JUDGE  265 

East,  I  could  sit  in  New  York,  and  with  your  pic- 
ture in  my  hand  I  could  be  with  you  and  talk  to 
you.  A  few  hours  later  you  would  receive  the 
cylinder  and  hear  me,  here." 

"It  is  a  very  pretty  idea,"  said  Harriet,  "and 
you  might  occasionally  send  me  word  from  the 
office  so  that  I  can  get  used  to  it.  But  I  hope 
you  will  not  be  called  away." 

Gardwell  availed  himself  of  the  permission,  and 
there  was  hardly  a  day  that  he  did  not  send  a 
cylinder  from  his  office  by  messenger,  and  Harriet 
in  several  instances  sent  messages  in  the  same 
way,  honest  Rufus  being  the  carrier.  On  one 
occasion,  when  Rufus  was  admitted  to  Gard well's 
private  office,  bearing  one  of  these  exceedingly 
modern  messages  of  Cupid,  he  found  the  senior 
receiver  of  the  Trans -American  standing  before 
his  phonograph  and  dictating  into  its  funnel  his 
morning  batch  of  correspondence.  He  turned  his 
head  a  moment,  just  long  enough  to  say,  "Glad 
to  see  you,  Rufus,  —  I  '11  be  with  you  in  a  mo- 
ment; take  a  chair,"  and  went  on  with  his  dicta- 
tion. Rufus  did  not  sit  down,  however,  but  came 
and  stood  by  Gard  well's  side,  alternately  watch- 
ing the  buzzing  machine  and  its  operator,  and 
evidently  mystified.  He  had  met  with  a  great 
many  new  and  strange  things  since  his  arrival  in 
Malton,  but  this,  as  he  afterward  expressed  him- 
self, was  "a  cracker- jack."  The  phrase,  whatever 
it  might  mean,  was  a  recent  addition  to  his  vocabu- 
lary, and  he  used  it  frequently. 


266  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

"This  is  a  new  one  to  you,  I  take  it,"  said 
Gardwell,  as  he  finished  a  letter  and  stopped  the 
machine. 

"That 's  what  it  is,"  replied  Kufus;  "what  d'  ye 
call  it?" 

"A  phonograph." 

"Anything  like  a  telegraph  or  'phone?  " 

"Not  exactly;  though  it 's  a  sort  of  second  cou- 
sin to  both.  You  see,"  explained  Gardwell,  "I 
talk  into  this  funnel,  and  the  sounds  are  recorded 
on  the  little  cylinder,  which  you  saw  revolving." 

He  released  the  cylinder  as  he  spoke,  and 
handed  it  to  Rufus. 

"My  eyes  must  be  gettin'  old,"  said  Eufus, 
turning  the  cylinder  over  and  over  in  his  hand  as 
he  scrutinized  it.  "  Blamed  if  I  can  see  anything 
but  straight  lines;  hain't  a  word  written  on  it, 
's  far  as  I  can  see." 

"But  the  words  are  there  just  the  same,  and 
you  can  hear  them  if  you  can't  see  them." 

Gardwell  again  adjusted  the  cylinder  to  its 
place,  put  the  receiving  tubes  into  Rufus's  ears, 
and  set  the  machine  going.  Rufus  quivered  a 
little  and  turned  pale.  There  was  evidently  some- 
thing "spooky  "  about  the  thing,  and  he  was  awed. 
He  recovered  himself  a  moment  later,  however, 
and  his  face  took  on  a  broad  grin ;  and  as  he  took 
the  tubes  from  his  ears,  he  pronounced  it  "a 
cracker-jack." 

"  I ' ve  seen  a  pile  of  strange  things  since  we 
came  to  Malton,  Mr.  Gardwell,  but  this  beats  'em 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  267 

all.  One  of  them  newspaper  fellers  bought  me 
a  drink  down  to  the  hotel  bar-room  the  other  day, 
and  whilst  I  was  talkin'  to  him  'bout  the  way  we 
did  things  up  to  Bowerville,  he  was  makin'  a  lot 
of  hen-tracks  on  a  little  book;  and  when  I  asked 
him  what  he  was  doing,  he  jest  read  it  off  to  me, 
and  blamed  if  he  didn't  have  every  word  set  down 
just  as  I  said  'em.  All  on  one  page,  too,  and  I  '11 
bet  I  talked  fifteen  minutes.  Any  rate,  we  had 
two  or  three  rounds;  and  I  don't  know  how  it  is, 
Mr.  Gardwell,  but  the  more  drinks  I  take  in,  the 
more  fool  talk  I  let  out.  Betsy  says  so,  anyway, 
and  I  guess  she  's  'bout  right.  But  the  newspaper 
feller  said  I  was  a  good  one,  and  he  was  going  to 
write  me  up  in  the  Sunday  paper." 

Gardwell  had  meanwhile  put  a  fresh  cylinder 
on  the  phonograph  and  turned  the  funnel  towards 
Rufus,  so  that  that  loquacious  individual  was  all 
unconsciously  having  his  interesting  "fool  talk" 
recorded. 

"But  this  here  machine,"  he  went  on,  "beats 
that  feller's  hen-tracks  all  to  nothin'." 

And  so  he  talked  on.  When  he  had  finished 
talking,  or  rather  when  Gardwell  interrupted  him, 
for,  strictly  speaking,  it  cannot  be  said  that  Rufus 
ever  finished  talking,  and  he  was  more  than  usually 
garrulous  this  morning,  Gardwell  again  put  the 
receiving  tubes  in  Rufus'  ears,  who,  much  .to  his 
delight,  heard  his  long  lingo  repeated. 

"Say!  "  he  exclaimed,  when  he  had  reached  the 
end  of  the  cylinder,  "a  feller's  got  to  be  mighty 


268  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

keerful  what  he  says  when  one  of  them  things  is 
in  the  room.  It 's  a  cracker-jack,  and  no  mis- 
take." 

Bass  and  Skeener  came  in  as  Rufus  went  out, 
and  Bass  noted  the  familiarity  of  the  adieus  with 
some  displeasure. 

"Gardwell,"  he  blurted  out,  "you  choose  strange 
companions  of  late.  Who  is  your  new  friend? 
The  head  of  a  cabbage  syndicate?" 

"  He  is  a  friend  of  mine,  because  he  is  the  tried 
and  trusted  friend  of  one  who  is  much  dearer  to 
me  than  any  other  friend,"  replied  Gardwell,  with 
some  of  his  old  spirit. 

"Take  that,  Brother  Bass,"  cried  Skeener,  with 
a  laugh,  for  he  noted  with  satisfaction  the  old 
ring  in  Gar  dwell' s  voice. 

"Gentlemen,  I  may  as  well  tell  you  my  secret 
now,  inasmuch  as  every  one  will  know  it  very 
soon.  I  am  to  be  married." 

"Thank  God!  "  exclaimed  Bass  fervently.  "Is 
that  what  has  been  the  matter  with  you?  Allow 
me  to  congratulate  you,"  and  he  jumped  up  and 
grasped  Gardwell' s  hands. 

"Who  is  the  charmer?  "  inquired  Skeener. 

"Miss  Harriet  Dunn." 

"The  daughter  of  Judge  Dunn!"  exclaimed 
Bass,  dropping  Gardwell's  hand  and  stepping  back. 

"Why,  certainly,"  replied  Gardwell. 

"Gardwell,"  he  cried,  "you  must  not,  you  shall 
not  make  this  public  now.  It  will  ruin  us." 

"Then  we  are  already  ruined,"  replied  Gard- 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  269 

well  lightly.  "I  gave  it  to  the  press  to-day.  It 
will  be  in  the  evening  papers." 

Bass  sank  into  a  chair  and  was  speechless. 

"This  is  certainly  very  impolitic,"  said  Skeener, 
pacing  up  and  down  the  room.  "It  is  already 
more  than  hinted  in  certain  quarters,  yes,  printed 
in  the  public  press,  that  Judge  Dunn  has  acted  at 
your  dictation.  It  is  charged  that  you  have  had 
undue  influence  over  him,  have  had  his  ear  out  of 
court  as  to  what  he  should  do  in  it,  and  this,  in 
the  public  mind,  will  corroborate  all  that  has  been 
charged." 

"  What  of  it !  What  do  I  care  for  the  howling 
of  a  pack  of  curs  ?  I  get  the  sweetest  woman  in 
the  world  for  my  wife." 

"Yes,"  retorted  Bass,  with  a  groan,  "and  pay 
the  highest  price  ever  paid  for  one  in  this  country. 
She  will  cost  her  weight  in  government  bonds. 
Let  me  be  your  best  man  at  the  wedding;  I  cer- 
tainly pay  enough  for  the  privilege." 

A  telegram  was  brought  in  and  given  to  Bass. 
He  tore  open  the  envelope  and  read  the  dispatch. 

"The  blow  has  come,"  he  cried,  with  a  bitter 
little  laugh.  "Congress  has  ordered  a  special  in- 
quiry into  the  strike  injunction,  and  that  Populist 
congressman,  Emmersley,  is  the  chairman." 

Gardwell  staggered,  and  his  face  grew  pale. 
He  rallied  in  an  instant:  "Children  cry  before 
they  are  hurt,  and  cowards  cringe  at  the  approach 
of  danger,  but  men  face  it.  I  will  meet  you  gen- 
tlemen at  ten  o'clock  to-morrow  morning,  and  we 


270  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

can  talk  matters  over.  It  amounts  to  very  little. 
I  tell  you  now  that  Judge  Dunn  will  never  yield 
an  inch.  Pardon  me  for  not  remaining,  but  I 
have  an  engagement  with  Miss  Dunn  which  I  can- 
not break.  I  would  not  disappoint  her  for  the 
world,  let  alone  a  railroad  that  traverses  a  very 
small  section  of  it." 

He  bowed,  and,  smiling  pleasantly,  left  the 
room. 

"Skeener,"  said  Bass,  "our  pilot  is  crazy  as  a 
loon." 

"Yes,"  was  the  reply,  "as  crazy  as  a  loon  in 
springtime;  for  they  also  are  then  in  love." 

"It 's  a  bad  mess,  but  this  shock  may  bring  him 
back  to  his  senses.  We  '11  see  how  he  is  to- 


CHAPTER  XXII 

GARDWELL'S  business  mind,  that  cluster  of  brain 
tissues  that  had  worked  night  and  day  under  high 
pressure  for  years,  had  been  dormant  ever  since 
Harriet  Dunn  let  escape  from  her  lips  the  words 
that  bound  her  to  become  his  wife.  But  while 
this  part  of  his  brain  remained  inactive,  whether 
broken  down  or  stopped  from  sheer  exhaustion, 
that  other  portion  wherein  lies  the  germ  of  love 
and  the  bent  that  leads  to  gratification  of  the  pas- 
sions had  had  full  sway,  and  governed  his  actions 
with  all  the  power  of  a  dynamo  that,  having  re- 
ceived voltage  for  years,  suddenly  has  all  its 
strength  released. 

The  shock  caused  by  the  news  of  the  new  com- 
plication, the  congressional  inquiry,  with  Robert 
Emmersley  as  chairman  of  the  committee,  had 
reached  the  dormant  section  of  his  mind,  and 
slowly  it  responded  to  the  summons.  He  had 
scarcely  gone  two  blocks  from  his  office  when  he 
began  to  grow  dimly  conscious  of  the  import  of 
what  he  had  just  heard.  Suddenly  it  flashed  upon 
him  with  full  force.  The  dormant  cells  were  again 
alive.  He  grew  faint,  and  a  mist  came  before  his 
eyes,  so  that  for  an  instant  he  staggered.  With 
a  great  effort  he  pulled  himself  together,  and  went 


272  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

directly  to  the  club.  He  sought  out  a  quiet  corner 
in  the  reading-room,  and  sank  into  a  chair. 

"I  have  blundered,"  he  thought;  "yes,  I  have 
been  weak." 

Quickly  in  his  mind  he  went  over  the  situation. 
Emmersley,  he  doubted  not,  was  still  in  love  with 
Harriet,  and  he  knew  that  he  was  a  man  who 
would  never  give  up  hope  until  the  last  ditch  was 
reached.  But  the  announcement  of  her  engage- 
ment would  mean  the  last  ditch  to  the  young  con- 
gressman, and  with  his  heart  filled  with  hatred 
and  disappointment,  all  hope  crushed  out,  what 
chance  was  there  of  reaching  him  ?  But  put  Hope 
in  the  young  enemy's  heart,  and  what  might  she 
not  whisper  to  him?  His  resolution  was  formed 
in  an  instant,  and  soon  acted  upon.  He  sent  a 
note  to  the  editor  of  the  morning  paper  calling 
attention  to  the  engagement  announcement  in  the 
"Evening  Day  Book,"  and  in  a  tone  of  indigna- 
tion denounced  it  as  wholly  unauthorized.  An- 
other note  he  wrote  to  the  editor  of  the  "Day 
Book,"  demanding  a  retraction,  and  expressing 
surprise  that  a  paper  of  its  standing  should  be 
guilty  of  printing  such  an  announcement  without 
having  first  secured  authority  from  him  for  so 
doing.  It  is  perhaps  needless  to  incidentally  re- 
cord the  fact  that  these  epistles  were  effective  to 
the  fullest  extent  of  Gardwell's  desire;  and  the 
fact  that  the  reporter  to  whom  he  had  personally 
given  the  original  announcement  was  summarily 
discharged  for  having  the  hardihood  to  maintain 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  273 

that  Gardwell  himself  had  authorized  the  item, 
was  an  incident  so  trivial  that  it  gave  him  no  con- 
cern further  than  to  issue  orders  that  the  unfortu- 
nate young  man  should  under  no  circumstances 
be  admitted  to  his  office. 

Gardwell  was  thoroughly  awake  to  the  danger 
that  confronted  him  and  which  menaced  the  judge 
as  well.  For  the  first  time  he  now  recognized  the 
popular  feeling  that  had  sprung  up  against  the 
judge  and  the  receivers  for  what,  he  knew,  was 
regarded  as  a  daring  usurpation  of  power.  He 
resolved,  at  all  hazards,  to  secure  from  the  con- 
gressional committee  a  favorable  report,  or  at  least 
one  that  was  not  denunciatory,  although  in  his 
heart  he  felt  that  such  an  one  was  well  deserved. 

"The  poor  old  judge,"  he  murmured.  "And 
yet,  if  it  were  not  for  Harriet  I  could  step  aside 
and  let  the  blow  fall  on  him  alone,  since  receivers 
act  merely  as  agents  of  the  court." 

What  a  scowling  villain  he  was  as  he  sat  there, 
tempted  to  desert  this  latest  victim  of  the  black 
art  which  he  practiced. 

"No!"  he  muttered;  "I  must  stand  by  him. 
But  this  will  make  him  stanch.  He  will  never 
yield  an  inch  now.  I  must  break  the  news  to 
him,  though  it  will  be  a  great  shock." 

Arrived  at  the  judge's  house,  he  encountered 
the  judge,  who  was  just  about  hastening  down 
town.  Gardwell  saw  at  a  glance  that  he  was 
greatly  agitated,  more  so  than  he  had  ever  seen 
him  before. 


274  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

"Oh,  Gardwell,"  he  exclaimed,  "you  are  the 
very  man  I  wanted  to  see !  I  have  just  been  inter- 
viewed by  a  reporter,  who  tells  me  that  Congress 
has  ordered  an  investigation.  It  is  a  plot  to  be- 
smirch me,  and  that  scoundrel  Emmersley  is  at 
the  bottom  of  it.  Do  you  know  anything  about 
it?" 

"Nothing  m6re  than  the  fact  that  some  sort  of 
a  committee  has  been  appointed  to  come  here  and 
pretend  to  make  an  investigation  into  the  cause 
leading  up  to  the  issuance  of  your  injunction  re- 
straining the  employees  of  the  Trans-American 
from  ruining  the  property  now  in  the  hands  of  the 
court,"  was  Gardwell's  formal  answer. 

"I  want  no  pretended  inquiry,"  cried  the  judge 
fiercely.  "Let  them  investigate  me.  I  want  a 
thorough  investigation,  and  they  will  find  that  I 
have  been  entirely  free  from  any  outside  influ- 
ences. You  know  that,  Gardwell." 

"Certainly,"  replied  Gardwell.  "But  don't  get 
excited.  Don't  let  it  annoy  you.  It  is  true  that 
the  injunction,  falsely  presented  to  the  people, 
has  raised  quite  a  storm,  but  the  better  element 
stands  solidly  at  your  back.  Labor  agitators  and 
demagogues  are  quick  to  take  advantage  of  such 
conditions,  and  to  strike  hard  when  the  public 
mind  is  inflamed.  The  conservative  element  of 
Congress  is  with  us  in  this  matter,  as  I  know  from 
Washington  advices,  but  something  had  to  be 
done  to  appease  the  popular  clamor." 

"But  why  should  I  be  singled  out?"  demanded 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  275 

the  old  judge.     "You  know  that  I  have  always 
maintained   the  rights  of  the  laboring  classes  — 
until,"  he  added,  "they  overstepped  the  bounds  of 
reason." 

"Very  true,"  assented  Gardwell.  "Extraordi- 
nary conditions  require  decisive  action.  A  fireman 
may  ruin  a  valuable  oil  painting  or  destroy  a 
French  plate  mirror,  but  he  must  put  out  the  fire. 
On  the  surface  an  injunction  restraining  our  men 
from  quitting  work  may  seem  somewhat  radical, 
and  under  the  circumstances  this  may  have  been 
true.  But  the  conditions  amply  warranted  it,  and 
it  was  necessary  in  order  to  prevent  great  loss  of 
life  and  property." 

"Undoubtedly,"  said  the  judge,  "and  it  was 
never  intended  to  restrain  them  from  eventually 
quitting  if  they  saw  fit.  Was  not  that  the  case?  " 

"It  has  been  construed  as  binding  until  such 
time  as  it  may  be  modified  by  you,"  replied  Gard- 
well. 

"What!"  cried  the  judge.  "Do  you  mean  to 
say  that  these  men  are  now  bound  not  to  peaceably 
resign  their  positions  as  individuals?  Why,  that 
is  beyond  reason.  The  Constitution  guarantees  to 
every  man  the  right "  — 

"It  guarantees  no  man  the  right  to  destroy  and 
render  valueless  the  property  of  another,"  inter- 
rupted Gardwell. 

"But,"  hotly  rejoined  the  judge,  "no  tribunal 
has  the  right  to  tell  me  that  I  must  remain  in  the 
service  of  another  against  my  will.  I  do  not 


276  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

maintain  any  such  stand,  and  if  it  is  so  understood 
I  am  grossly  misrepresented." 

"You  read  the  petition  and  the  order,  did  you 
not?"  asked  Gardwell  calmly. 

The  judge  winced. 

"Mr.  Gardwell,"  he  said,  after  a  short  pause, 
"I  reposed  a  great  deal  of  confidence  in  you  and 
Mr.  Skeener." 

"It  has  not  been  misplaced,"  observed  Gardwell. 
"Mr.  Skeener,  than  whom  there  is  no  better  con- 
stitutional lawyer,  says  your  position  in  the  injunc- 
tion is  well  taken." 

"  But  this  cannot  be  maintained  for  an  indefinite 
period.  There  must  be  an  end  to  it  some  time." 

"Certainly,"  replied  Gardwell  soothingly,  "but 
not  until  the  danger  is  past.  You  would  not  have 
the  great  property  in  your  hands  destroyed,  would 
you?" 

"Of  course  not,"  answered  the  judge  emphati- 
cally. "Property  interests  must  be  protected." 

"There  you  are,"  cried  Gardwell  -cheerfully, 
"  and  there  is  where  the  leading  men  of  the  coun- 
try are  with  you.  In  protecting  property  you  are 
protecting  invested  capital,  and  shielding  labor 
from  the  greatest  harm  that  can  come  to  it.  In 
this  matter  you  stand  as  the  friend  of  all  the  par- 
ties interested." 

"  But  I  have  no  right  to  deprive  these  working- 
men,  these  citizens,  of  their  constitutional  rights," 
persisted  the  judge. 

"Pshaw!"  exclaimed  Gardwell.     "The  Consti- 


THE  FEDERAL   JUDGE  277 

tution  is  not  of  divine  origin.  It  was  written  to 
meet  conditions  as  they  existed;  the  men  who 
wrote  it  were  not  prophets." 

"I  hold  the  Constitution  sacred,  and  any  one 
who  intentionally  "  — 

"Excuse  me,"  interrupted  Gardwell.  "The 
Constitution  does  not  guarantee  to  any  man  or  set 
of  men  the  right  to  destroy  the  property  of  others. 
You  agree  with  me,  do  you  not,  that  property 
must  be  protected?" 

"  By  all  means.  Without  such  protection  there 
can  be  no  stability." 

"  And  without  such  protection  to  property  there 
would  be  anarchy,"  solemnly  declared  Gardwell. 
"  History  will  accord  to  you  the  credit  that  an  ig- 
norant and  excited  public  now  withholds." 

The  judge  was  pleased  at  this,  and  the  two  men 
walked  in  silence  for  a  few  moments.  The  judge 
was  the  first  to  speak. 

"Would  it  not  be  well,"  he  said,  "to  modify 
that  injunction  now?" 

"It  would  be  construed  as  running  under  fire," 
answered  Gardwell.  "I  feel  confident  so  far  as 
the  law  goes.  Do  you  feel  that  your  stand  is 
right?" 

"Property  must  be  protected  at  all  hazards," 
said  the  judge  emphatically;  "I  certainly  am 
right." 

"Yes,"  exclaimed  Gardwell;  "and  if  you,  a  poor 
man,  wholly  without  prejudice  in  favor  of  the  rich, 
and  untouched  by  any  outside  influences,  personal 


278  THE  FEDERAL   JUDGE 

or  otherwise,  can  feel  that  way,  what  doubt  can 
there  be  of  its  correctness?  But  it  is  useless  for 
us  to  discuss  a  matter  in  which  I  fully  agree  with 
you.  There  is  another  subject  on  which  I  should 
like  to  speak,  and  I  ask  you  to  hear  me  through 
before  replying." 

"Go  ahead,  I  promise,"  said  the  judge,  now 
somewhat  composed  in  mind. 

Briefly,  but  with  great  tact  and  delicacy  of  touch, 
Gardwell  explained  to  the  judge  the  conditions 
which  made  it  necessary  that  the  engagement  of 
himself  and  Harriet  should  be  denied.  The  judge 
restrained  himself  with  great  difficulty,  and  was 
on  the  point  of  bursting  out  several  times,  but  he 
kept  his  promise,  and  Gardwell  was  enabled  to 
answer  the  indignant  questions  that  came  into  the 
judge's  mind,  and  to  show  why,  under  the  circum- 
stances, discretion  was  the  better  part  of  valor, 
and  would  protect  Harriet  from  much  gossipy 
scandal  which  could  not  fail  of  prejudicing  the 
case  of  the  judge  in  the  eyes  of  the  public. 

When  he  had  finished,  the  judge  said :  — 

"Mr.  Gardwell,  this  business  goes  against  my 
grain.  I  am  a  plain,  blunt  man,  and  fear  to  look 
no  man  in  the  eye.  You  have  honorably  won  the 
hand  of  my  daughter,  and  have  also  gained  her 
love"- 

" Thank  God!  "  said  Gardwell,  with  emotion. 

"I  am  willing  to  take  you  by  the  hand,  and  let 
the  world  know  that  we  are  friends,"  continued 
the  judge,  not  noticing  the  exclamation.  "Why, 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  279 

the  next  thing  these  scoundrels  will  be  charging 
that  you  have  influenced  me  in  the  matter  of  the 
receivership  and  the  injunction." 

"That  is  not  at  all  improbable,"  said  Gardwell. 
"They  will  say  you  got  nothing  less  than  a  mil- 
lion," he  added,  with  a  laugh,  in  which  the  judge 
joined. 

But  the  judge's  laugh  came  to  a  sudden  stop. 
The  thought  of  the  "orphans'  fund"  and  the 
thirty  thousand  dollars,  of  which  Van  Tipple  had 
told  him,  flashed  into  his  mind. 

"We  have  nothing  to  fear,"  said  Gardwell. 
"Let  this  rump  committee,  with  its  callow  dema- 
gogue head,  come,  and  we  will  meet  them  face  to 
face.  The  right  will.prevail. " 

"Nothing  at  all  to  fear,"  repeated  the  judge; 
"the  right  always  prevails." 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

THE  country  was  astir  over  the  congressional 
inquiry  which  was  to  take  place,  and  many  and 
varied  were  the  predictions  as  to  its  outcome. 
The  judge  was  devoid  of  neither  champions  nor 
assailants  who  espoused  his  cause  or  attacked  his 
position,  as  the  case  might  be.  On  the  one  side, 
he  was  pictured  as  the  sturdy  country  judge  who 
had  risen  to  the  federal  bench  by  merit  of  his 
judicial  integrity,  while  on  the  other  he  was  de- 
scribed as  the  weak  tool  of  the  corporations,  seek- 
ing to  enslave  the  working  classes  by  usurping  the 
powers  of  the  general  government  in  the  interest 
of  the  rich. 

The  inquiry  lasted  for  three  days,  and  was  as 
thorough  and  searching  as  the  efforts  of  the  young 
chairman  could  make  it.  Before  the  second  day's 
session  was  over  it  was  clear  to  Gar d well's  mind 
that  Emmersley  was  following  a  line  of  investiga- 
tion which  was  based  on  the  assumption  that  the 
judge  had  been  made  a  tool  of  by  himself  and  his 
associates.  Some  of  the  questions  of  the  young 
congressman  struck  so  close  to  facts  which  he  sup- 
posed that  he  alone  had  knowledge  of,  that  it 
astonished  as  well  as  alarmed  him.  The  young 
country  lawyer  knew  somewhat  of  the  hypnotic 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  281 

force  of  environment;  the  power  of  passes  made 
by  the  hand  of  small  favors  and  constant  attention 
were  understood  by  him ;  and  in  his  clear  blue  eyes 
Gardwell  read  the  accusation,  "  Thou  art  the  man !  " 

In  consultation  with  Bass  and  Skeener  on  the 
evening  of  the  second  day,  Gardwell  made  known 
his  conclusions. 

"Brainerd  is  with  us,"  he  said,  referring  to  one 
of  the  congressmen  on  the  committee,  "but  Sturgis 
is  controlled  absolutely  by  Emmersley,  who  has 
made  up  his  mind  to  prepare  a  report  that  will 
flay  the  judge  and  lash  our  backs." 

"Can't  we  convince  Sturgis?"  asked  Bass,  with 
a  significant  look. 

"Where  one  man  has  absolute  control  of  an- 
other," replied  Gardwell,  "it  is  useless  to  attempt 
to  get  at  him  in  a  day.  A  week,  a  month,  or  a 
year,  and  it  might  be  otherwise.  Emmersley  is 
the  only  one  to  reach,  and  I  alone  can  have  any 
hope  of  connecting  with  him.  There  is  a  chance, 
but  a  slight  one.  He  hates  me  more  than  he  does 
any  other  man  on  earth." 

"Why,  Gardwell,"  said  Skeener,  "I  thought  you 
made  it  a  point  not  to  have  any  personal  enemies." 

"There  are  some  differences  which  can  never  be 
bridged." 

"Oh,  ho;  so  the  wind  blows  from  that  quarter. 
We  are  indeed  in  a  bad  way  if  there  is  a  woman 
in  the  case." 

An  ugly  look  came  into  Gardwell's  face,  but  it 
passed  away  as  he  replied :  — 


282  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

"Delilah  cut  the  locks  of  Samson,  but  there 
was  nothing  in  the  act  that  a  better  woman  could 
not  have  done  without  being  sullied.  Our  weak- 
ness may  prove  to  be  our  strength,"  and  picking 
up  his  hat  he  quitted  the  room  without  further 
words. 

"He  always  has  a  trump  left,"  remarked  Skeener 
in  admiration. 

"Yes,"  said  Bass;  "but  there  are  only  fifty-two 
cards  in  the  pack,  and  Gardwell  has  been  playing 
a  long  time.  A  bold  game  makes  a  great  show, 
but  it  doesn't  always  win  the  chips." 

"By  the  way,"  said  Skeener  suddenly,  "Tusher 
told  me  a  curious  thing  last  evening.  He  says 
that  Gardwell  supported  Emmersley  on  the  quiet, 
and  really  elected  him  to  Congress.  I  paid  little 
attention  to  it,  —  he  talks  a  great  deal  without 
saying  much,  you  know,  —  but  what  struck  me  as 
curious  was  the  fact,  as  Tusher  asserts,  that  Em- 
mersley does  not  know  that  Gardwell  elected  him." 

"Why  not  have  Tusher  let  him  know?"  sug- 
gested Bass.  "It  might  be  a  good  move  to  make." 

"It  is  dangerous  to  interfere  with  Gardwell's 
plans,"  objected  Skeener  dubiously. 

"  Skeener,"  said  Bass,  lowering  his  voice,  "  Gard- 
well is  not  the  man  he  used  to  be.  Possibly  he 
has  forgotten  it.  By  to-morrow  it  will  be  too 
late.  Have  you  noticed  the  change  in  him?  " 

"Yes,"  replied  Skeener,  "I  have." 

It  was  finally  agreed  between  the  two  men  that 
Tusher  should  at  once  be  instructed  to  take  means 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  283 

for  letting  the  proud  young  congressman  know  to 
whom  he  was  really  indebted  for  his  seat  in  Con- 
gress. It  did  not  take  long  to  find  Tusher  in  the 
lobby  of  the  Vista  hotel :  it  was  in  the  hotel  lobby 
that  Tusher  was  especially  a  "prominent"  politi- 
cian. Half  an  hour  later  the  genial  chairman  and 
Congressman  Emmersley  were  seated  on  the  same 
sofa  in  the  big  rotunda. 

Tusher  led  the  conversation  up  to  Gardwell  by 
slow  degrees,  and  sounded  his  praises  with  a  fervor 
born  of  awe  and  admiration.  When  he  felt  that 
he  had  reached  the  proper  point,  he  said :  — 

"As  chairman  of  the  State  Central  Committee, 
I  hold  many  secrets,  and  one  of  them  would  greatly 
interest  you  just  at  present." 

"Possibly,"  observed  Emmersley  dryly;  "but 
never  tell  campaign  secrets.  It 's  bad  politics." 

"I  know  it,"  continued  Tusher,  "but  in  this 
instance  I  deem  it  my  duty  to  acquaint  you  with 
certain  facts.  To  be  blunt  about  it,  you  owed 
your  election  to  Elliot  Gardwell." 

Emmersley 's  first  impulse  was  to  burst  forth  in 
righteous  indignation  at  this  clumsy  attempt  to 
influence  his  future  action  in  the  investigation, 
but  he  curbed  his  passion  and,  after  a  moment's 
pause,  replied  in  a  calm  voice :  — 

"Mr.  Tusher,  you  surprise  me.  Really,  I  had 
no  idea  that  I  was  one  of  the  great  army  of  office- 
holders who  live  by  grace  of  Elliot  Gardwell." 

"It 's  as  true  as  I  'm  sitting  here,"  said  Tusher, 
"and  you  are  not  the  only  one  that  is  in  the  same 


284  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

boat,  either.  No;  nor  the  only  one  connected 
with  this  investigation,"  he  shrewdly  added. 

"The  judge,"  thought  Emmersley.  "You  in- 
terest me  greatly,"  he  said.  "But  let  us  adjourn 
to  one  of  the  rooms  in  the  cafe;  I  feel  thirsty 
myself." 

Emmersley  knew  that  Tusher  talked  with  greater 
fluency  and  less  care  for  future  consequences  when 
a  cold  quart  was  on  the  table. 

Tusher  was  in  high  spirits  over  the  evident  im- 
pression that  he  was  making  in  Gard well's  favor, 
and  when  he  had  swallowed  a  glass  of  wine  he 
continued  his  story.  Emmersley,  by  judicious 
questioning,  led  him  on,  and  little  by  little  he 
learned  the  full  particulars  of  Gardwell's  instruc- 
tions to  Tusher,  and  heard  with  inward  shame  and 
rage  that  he  had  profited  by  the  expenditure  of 
some  of  Gardwell's  money,  for  Tusher  had  learned 
that  fact  after  the  campaign  was  over. 

Tusher  drank  freely,  and  talked  with  increasing 
freedom. 

"Gardwell  is  a  wonderful  man,"  he  declared. 
"He's  the  best-hearted  fellow  in  the  world,  and 
he  hates  to  let  the  people  for  whom  he  does  big 
favors  know  anything  about  it." 

"Yes,  there  's  Judge  Dunn,  for  instance,"  re- 
turned Emmersley. 

"What  are  you  giving  me?"  cried  Tusher,  sud- 
denly becoming  suspicious. 

"Oh,  I  know  a  few  things,"  said  Emmersley 
carelessly:  "the  midnight  trip,  for  instance." 


THE  FEDERAL   JUDGE  285 

Tusher  started,  stared  for  a  moment  into  Ein- 
mersley's  face,  and  then  burst  into  a  laugh. 

"You  are  all  right,  congressman,"  he  finally 
said.  "But  how  in  thunder  did  you  find  that 
out  ?  I  never  told  a  soul.  Gardwell  almost  put 
me  under  oath  never  to  breathe  a  word  of  it." 

Emmersley  did  not  venture  to  reply ;  and  Tusher, 
after  drinking  another  glass  of  wine,  grew  reminis- 
cent, and  went  over  the  details  of  the  whole  busi- 
ness: his  trip,  the  interview  with  the  judge,  and 
his  report  to  Gardwell.  Emmersley  heard  it  with 
no  little  surprise  and  pleasure.  He  had  all  along 
supposed  that  it  was  Gardwell  who  had  visited  the 
judge,  and  who  went  clattering  away  in  the  dark- 
ness —  as  Ruf us  had  put  it,  "  like  a  drunken  farmer 
going  home  from  a  county  fair."  It  was  a  relief 
to  know  that  the  judge,  after  all,  was  not  what  he 
had  taken  him  to  be,  a  willing  slave  who  had  sold 
himself  for  a  seat  on  the  federal  bench. 

"And  the  judge  doesn't  know  now  how  he 
came  to  be  selected?  "  queried  Emmersley,  half  to 
himself. 

"Of  course  not,"  said  Tusher;  "Gardwell  never 
tells  those  things.  By  the  way,  it 's  mighty 
strange  he  told  you,"  and  Tusher  looked  at  the 
congressman  in  a  half -frightened  way. 

"I  never  said  he  did,"  replied  Emmersley, 
speaking  in  a  different  tone  from  that  which  he 
had  used  during  the  conversation.  Tusher 's  flushed 
face  turned  to  a  pinkish  gray. 

"Mr.  Tusher,"  he  continued,  "you  will  excuse 


286  THE  FEDERAL   JUDGE 

me  if  I  speak  my  mind  frankly.  You  are  a  faith- 
ful servant,  but  not  a  shrewd  one.  Your  master, 
too,  has  grown  clumsy ;  he  needs  sharp  tools,  not 
dull  ones,  to  cut  his  way  through  me." 

He  rose  from  the  table,  for  his  passion  was 
getting  the  better  of  him,  for  all  he  could  do  to 
repress  it,  and,  shaking  his  long  forefinger  in 
Tusher's  face,  he  spoke  in  deliberate  and  earnest 
tones :  — 

"Tell  Elliot  Gardwell  that  I  loathe  and  despise 
him,  and  had  I  known  to  whom  I  was  indebted  I 
would  never  have  taken  my  seat  in  Congress. 
Tell  him  that  I  am  his  enemy,  and  that  balancing 
a  seat  in  Congress  against  a  life,  we  are  quits. 
Tell  him  "- 

"For  God's  sake !  "  cried  Tusher,  aghast,  "don't 
talk  so  loud.  He  did  not  send  me  to  you.  I 
swear  it!  If  he  learns  of  this,  I  am  ruined." 

Emmersley  felt  a  sudden  pity  for  the  fellow. 

"Tusher,"  he  said,  "I  will  never  say  a  word 
about  this  to  any  man  on  earth.  There  's  my  hand 
on  it.  I  don't  blame  you." 

Tusher  grasped  the  extended  hand,  and  would 
have  clung  to  it,  but  Emmersley  wrenched  it  from 
him,  and  strode  away. 

While  Tusher  was  glibly  telling  to  Emmersley 
that  which  Gardwell  would  have  concealed  as  fatal 
to  his  cause,  and  which,  after  all,  was  the  very 
best  thing  that  could  have  happened  for  the  judge, 
Gardwell  himself  was  in  consultation  with  a  person 
who  had  hitherto  taken  only  a  passive  part  in  the 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  287 

events  which  shaped  the  lives  of  those  about  her. 
It  was  to  Mrs.  Dunn  that  Gardwell  went  when  he 
left  Bass  and  Skeener.  This  gentle  woman,  into 
whose  life  had  come  a  burst  of  sunshine  with  the 
judge's  promise  that  he  would  endeavor  to  obtain 
some  trace  of  her  missing  boy,  was  wholly  subject 
to  that  peculiar  force  of  will  which  Gardwell  ex- 
ercised to  a  greater  or  less  degree  over  all  with 
whom  he  came  in  contact.  Extremely  sensitive  to 
little  acts  of  kindness  and  attention,  she  had  grown 
to  look  upon  him  with  deep  affection,  and  to  repose 
the  most  implicit  faith  in  his  judgment;  and  had 
he  told  her  that  he  would  institute  a  search  for  her 
boy,  she  would  not  for  a  moment  have  doubted 
that  erelong  she  would  again  press  the  lost  one  to 
her  heart.  It  had  been  her  intention  to  appeal  to 
Gardwell  in  the  matter,  but  she  decided  to  wait 
until  he  was  a  son  to  her  in  the  eyes  of  the  law, 
and  she  devoutly  hoped  for  an  early  fulfillment  of 
his  engagement  with  Harriet.  The  published  de- 
nial of  that  engagement  was  at  first  a  disappoint- 
ment to  her,  but  she  acquiesced  readily  enough 
when  told  that  it  was  the  wish  of  Gardwell,  for 
she  believed  that  whatever  he  thought  and  did  was 
for  the  best. 

He  found  her  alone  that  night.  The  judge 
and  Harriet  had  gone  for  a  drive  in  his  carriage, 
which  he  had  taken  the  precaution  to  send  to  the 
house,  with  a  message  pleading  a  business  engage- 
ment for  himself.  After  the  first  flutter,  she  lis- 
tened calmly  to  what  he  told  her,  and  exhibited 


288  THE   FEDERAL  JUDGE 

all  that  strength  which  the  weak  often  show  in  the 
presence  of  real  or  imaginary  danger.  Gardwell 
knew  the  power  of  frankness,  and  he  did  not  hesi- 
tate to  point  out  to  her  the  existing  conditions. 
Emmersley,  he  declared,  was  insanely  jealous  of 
him,  and  believed  that  the  judge  had  been  impli- 
cated in  a  conspiracy  with  him  and  his  associates, 
and  had  been  the  willing  tool  to  further  their  ends. 
This  was  not  true,  he  said,  and  the  one  person 
who  could  so  inform  the  fiery  yqung  congressman 
was  Harriet.  She,  as  a  loyal  daughter,  with  per- 
fect propriety,  could  ask  that  justice  be  done  her 
father,  and  she,  above  all,  was  the  one  person 
whose  word  would  carry  weight  with  the  misguided 
youth  who  now  wielded  so  much  power. 

"I  care  nothing  for  myself,"  declared  Gardwell, 
"and  you  must  realize  what  a  sacrifice  I  make  in 
allowing  her  even  to  speak  to  him.  But  I  am 
determined  that  the  judge  shall  not  fall  a  victim 
to  his  unreasoning  hatred,  of  which,  after  all,  I 
am  the  cause,  in  having  won  Harriet's  hand." 

"Poor  Tracy!"  moaned  Mrs.  Dunn,  almost 
bursting  into  tears.  "It  would  break  his  heart  to 
be  so  wrongfully  accused.  And  yet  I  know  he 
will  never  consent  to  Harriet's  going  to  see  Em- 
mersley." 

"He  is  to  know  nothing  about  it,"  replied  Gard- 
well so  decisively  that  Mrs.  Dunn's  feelings  of 
wifely  duty  were  swept  aside  in  an  instant.  "It 
rests  with  us  to  save  him,  and  we  can  do  it  if  we 
act  at  once.  He  is  powerless  in  the  matter. 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  289 

There  is  only  one  way  out  of  it,  and  that  is  to  tell 
Harriet  all  that  I  have  told  you,  and  point  out  to 
her  that  she  alone  can  save  her  father  from  a  most 
cruel  and  unjust  accusation.  There  is  no  time  to 
lose.  They  will  be  back  before  eight  o'clock,  and 
at  nine  my  carriage  will  be  waiting  on  the  corner. 
A  few  words  from  her  will  do  more  than  all  the 
appeals  and  prayers  that  could  be  mustered.  The 
carriage  will  drive  her  to  the  east  entrance  of  the 
hotel,  and  from  the  ladies'  waiting-room  she  can 
send  her  card  to  Emmersley.  He  will  come  at 
once.  You  will  accompany  her,  but  remain  in 
the  carriage." 

The  strain  of  old  Puritan  stock  was  making 
itself  felt  in  Mrs.  Dunn,  and  it  was  with  perfect 
calmness  that  she  bade  Gardwell  good-night  at  the 
door. 

"Remember,"  he  said,  "the  carriage  will  be  on 
the  corner  at  nine  o'clock." 

"At  nine  o'clock,"  she  replied,  "Harriet  and  I 
will  be  there." 

When  the  judge  and  Harriet  returned  from 
their  drive,  the  judge,  as  was  his  usual  custom, 
retired  to  his  study.  Harriet  went  directly  to  her 
room.  She  had  scarcely  removed  her  wraps  when 
there  was  a  tap  on  the  door,  and  her  mother 
entered. 

"Why,  what  is  the  matter,  mamma?"  cried  the 
girl.  "You  look  as  though  something  dreadful 
had  happened." 

"Harriet,"  said  Mrs.  Dunn,  "something  dread- 


290  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

ful  may  happen,  but  if  you  and  I  do  our  duty  it 
may  be  averted." 

Seating  herself  beside  her  daughter,  and  taking 
one  of  Harriet's  hands  in  her  own,  she  repeated 
all  that  Gardwell  had  told  her.  Harriet  was 
silent  through  it  all,  her  face  colorless  and  crim- 
son by  turns. 

"We  have  no  time  to  lose,"  concluded  Mrs. 
Dunn.  "You  have  only  to  put  on  your  coat  and 
hat  to  be  ready." 

Harriet  arose,  took  two  or  three  turns  up  and 
down  the  room,  and  then,  wheeling  suddenly  about, 
dropped  on  her  knees  and  buried  her  face  in  her 
mother's  lap. 

"Oh,  mamma,"  she  sobbed,  "how  can  I  look 
Bob  in  the  face?" 

"Bob!"  exclaimed  Mrs.  Dunn  sharply.  "How 
can  you  speak  of  him  in  that  familiar  way,  Har- 
riet? Mr.  Emmersley  has  certainly  proven  him- 
self unworthy  of  our  respect,  and  now  he  would 
ruin  your  father,  simply  because  you  have  prom- 
ised to  be  the  wife  of  a  man  he  dislikes,  and  who 
is  in  every  way  his  superior." 

"It  isn't  true;  it  is  false!"  cried  Harriet, 
springing  to  her  feet.  "He  hasn't  done  anything 
that  an  honorable  gentleman  should  blush  for,  and 
I  don't  believe  he  would.  It  is  Mr.  Gardwell 
who  is  the  bad  man.  I  know  he  is.  He  has  got 
poor  papa  under  his  thumb.  He  " 

"  Harriet !  Harriet !  "  cried  Mrs.  Dunn,  greatly 
alarmed  and  shocked  at  this  outburst,  "remember 
that  you  are  his  affianced  wife." 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  291 

"Yes,"  cried  the  girl,  pacing  back  and  forth 
and  wringing  her  hands,  "but  why  did  I  promise? 
Why  did  I  consent?  I  did  not  know  what  I  was 
doing;  it  was  all  so  sudden  and  so  strange;  it 
seems  like  a  dream.  It  was  his  terrible  eyes," 
she  cried,  growing  more  and  more  agitated,  her 
lips  trembling  and  the  tears  running  down  her 
cheeks.  "I  see  them  everywhere,  even  in  the 
dark.  When  he  is  with  me,  and  I  look  into  them, 
I  feel  myself  grow  weak,  and  then  I  think  I  love 
him.  But  I  have  not  seen  him  since  this  trouble 
began,  since  papa  has  been  on  trial,  with  his  repu- 
tation at  stake,  and  I  feel  free  again." 

She  stopped  abruptly,  and  looked  at  her  mother, 
who  had  sunk  into  a  chair  in  a  state  of  complete 
collapse. 

"Don't  be  frightened,"  she  said  in  a  calmer 
tone.  "I  am  a  woman  now.  I  am  no  longer  a 
girl.  I  will  do  as  you  wish.  I  will  see  Mr. 
Emmersley,  and  he  shall  learn  from  me  that  he 
does  papa  a  great  injustice.  He  will  believe  me. 
I  do  not  blame  him  for  thinking  as  he  does.  But 
I  know  now  that  Mr.  Gardwell  made  papa  make 
those  dreadful  decisions.  There  was  no  trouble 
before  we  met  —  that  man.  Papa  was  always 
right  in  Bowerville." 

"I  knew  you  would  go,"  said  Mrs.  Dunn.  "It 
is  the  only  way  we  can  save  your  father  from  dis- 
grace. Mr.  Gardwell  says  " 

"Don't  mention  his  name  to  me  again,"  cried 
Harriet,  flaring  up  afresh.  "I  see  it  all  now: 


292  THE  FEDERAL   JUDGE 

butterflies,  carriage  rides,  flowers,  that  horrid 
phonograph,  and  even  the  house  we  live  in !  But 
papa  is  innocent,  and  Bob  Emmersley  shall  know 
it." 

"You  have  no  right  to  talk  so  about  the  man 
to  whom  you  are  engaged,"  interrupted  her  mo- 
ther. 

"Mother,"  said  Harriet  in  a  solemnly  deter- 
mined tone,  "I  will  never  marry  Elliot  Gardwell. 
He  has  denied  our  engagement,  and  that  denial 
shall  stand.  I  will  never  see  him  alone  again. 
Come,"  she  said,  opening  the  door;  "it  is  nine 
o'clock." 

The  two  women  slipped  noiselessly  out  of  the 
house  and  found  the  carriage  in  waiting.  The 
night  was  chilly,  and  the  driver  wore  a  light-col- 
ored topcoat,  the  high  collar  of  which  was  turned 
up  until  it  concealed  his  features.  He  opened  the 
door  and  helped  the  ladies  in.  When  his  hand 
touched  Harriet's  elbow,  she  felt  a  shock  run 
through  her,  as  if  from  an  electric  current,  and 
she  sank  into  the  carriage  seat  with  a  gasp,  for 
she  knew  that  the  driver  was  Elliot  Gardwell. 

Robert  Emmersley  was  pacing  the  floor  of  his 
room,  revolving  in  his  mind  the  situation  of  affairs 
under  the  new  light  thrown  upon  it  by  Tusher's 
disclosures.  After  all,  he  thought,  the  judge  has 
been  an  innocent  victim  of  designing  men  —  of 
Elliot  Gardwell. 

There  was  a  knock  at  the  door,  and  a  card  was 
handed  him. 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  293 

"Miss  Dunn." 

He  read  the  name  aloud,  and  it  startled  him. 
Pronounced  in  this  formal  way,  it  seemed  to  widen 
the  distance  between  her  and  him,  and  a  pain 
pierced  his  heart.  Then  the  nature  of  her  visit 
suggested  itself,  and  he  exclaimed :  — 

"He  is  dragging  her  into  it  too,  the  villain!  " 

Cool  and  collected,  a  few  minutes  later  he  en- 
tered the  room  where  Harriet  was  waiting.  She 
arose  as  he  entered,  and  he  noticed  how  very  pale 
was  her  face. 

"Pardon  me,  Mr.  Emmersley,"  she  began,  "for 
having  disturbed  you,  but  I  came  to  save  one  who 
is  very  dear  to  me  from  becoming  the  victim  of  a 
cruel  injustice.  I  refer  to  my  father." 

"I  was  not  aware,"  replied  Emmersley,  "that 
there  was  any  danger  of  any  one  having  injustice 
done  him  at  my  hands,  least  of  all  your  father, 
Miss  Dunn." 

He  pushed  a  chair  towards  her,  but  she  re- 
mained standing. 

"I  am  aware  that  my  father  stands  indirectly 
accused  of  acting  at  the  dictation  of  Mr.  Gardwell 
and  other  gentlemen,"  continued  Harriet,  "and 
that  he  did  so  by  reason  of  being  under  deep  obli- 
gations to  them.  I  know  that  this  is  false,  and  I 
come  to  give  you  my  word  for  it,  and  to  beg  of 
you  not  to  break  his  heart  by  adjudging  him  guilty 
of  motives  which  he  could  never  be  capable  of  har- 
boring. He  may  have  been  a  victim  of  cunning 
and  unscrupulous  men,  but  he  is  as  honest  and 


294  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

upright  a  man  as  he  was  when  you  knew  him  in 
Bowerville." 

She  spoke  these  words  in  a  slow,  strange,  stilted 
way,  as  if  reciting  a  piece  which  she  had  learned 
by  heart.  She  knew  it,  but  could  not  help  it. 

"I  am  glad  to  hear  that,"  replied  Emmersley, 
"and  I  wish  I  could  believe  it.  I  wish  it  were 
true  of  others  whom  I  used  to  know  there." 

He  paused  a  moment,  as  if  to  note  the  effect  of 
his  cruel  fling.  "It  is  certainly  commendable  in 
you  to  take  this  step  in  defense  of  your  father, 
especially  as  it  involved  your  coming  in  contact 
with  such  a  degenerate  as  myself,  but  it  was  not 
at  all  necessary.  You  come  too  late." 

Harriet  gave  a  start  and  clasped  her  hands,  and 
a  look  came  into  her  face  that  caused  Emmersley 
a  moment  of  agony. 

"Too  late,"  he  hastily  continued,  "for  the  rea- 
son that  to-night  I  accidentally  learned  certain 
facts  which,  in  my  mind  at  least,  exonerate  your 
father  from  that  of  which  I  deemed  him  guilty.  I 
am  sure  that  he  did  not  know  who  placed  him  on 
the  federal  bench.  It  is  fortunate  that  I  learned 
this  as  I  did,  for  had  an  angel  come  as  Elliot 
Gar  dwell 's  messenger  I  would  not  have  believed 
her  under  oath." 

Harriet  drew  herself  up,  and  her  eyes  flashed. 

"Robert  Emmersley,"  she  cried,  "you  do  me  a 
cruel  wrong.  I  have  not  seen  Mr.  Gardwell  since 
he  denied  our  engagement,  and  that  denial  will 
never  be  questioned." 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  295 

A  drowning  man  will  grasp  at  a  straw,  but  a 
man  in  love  will  clutch  at  a  shadow. 

"Harriet,"  whispered  Emmersley,  stepping  for- 
ward and  looking  down  at  her,  "Harriet,  tell  me 
that  you  do  not  love  him.  Remember  the  old  days 
at  Bowerville." 

She  raised  her  head.  "Robert,"  she  began, 
but  at  that  moment  other  voices  interrupted  her :  — 

"We  will  wait  here  until  he  comes,"  said  the 
stout  woman  to  her  younger  companion  as  they 
swept  into  the  room.  "We  will  wait  here  if  it 
takes  all  night  for  him  to  get  away  from  that 
'  friend '  who  never  goes  into  the  theatre,  and  who 
is  always  waiting  for  him  behind  the  hotel  screen. 
Just  as  if  I  did  n't  know  that  that  was  the  bar- 
room." 

Emmersley  opened  the  carriage  door,  and  as- 
sisted Harriet  in.  The  window  was  down,  and, 
reaching  through  the  opening,  he  took  a  little 
hand  in  his  and,  bending  over,  quickly  kissed  it 
as  he  snapped  the  door  shut.  The  driver  was 
looking  down  over  his  shoulder,  and  an  instant 
later  the  whip-lash  fell  on  the  flanks  of  the  off 
horse,  and  the  team  sprang  forward.  Emmersley 
stood,  and  with  wonder  beheld  the  driver  ply  the 
whip  to  the  horses  and  saw  on  the  reins. 

Once  in  the  carriage,  Harriet's  strength  left 
her,  and  she  fell  to  crying  softly  to  herself. 

"There,  there,  dear,"  said  Mrs.  Dunn,  stroking 
Harriet's  forehead.  "You  are  a  brave  girl.  But 
the  impudence  of  that  upstart!  He  kissed  your 
hand." 


296  THE   FEDERAL    JUDGE 

" Did  he ?  "  asked  Harriet.  " Dear  old  Bob." 
There  was  little  rest  for  either  Gardwell  or 
Emmersley  that  night.  The  young  congressman 
struggled  between  his  stern  sense  of  duty  and  the 
thought  that  should  his  report  in  any  wise  reflect 
upon  the  judge,  it  could  not  fail  of  wounding 
Harriet.  The  flame  of  the  old  love  burned  more 
fiercely  within  him  than  ever  before,  and  the 
promptings  of  self-interest  urged  him  not  to  deal 
too  harshly  with  the  old  jurist  who,  no  matter  how 
culpable  he  might  be,  could  never  be  looked  upon 
by  her  as  other  than  a  kind  and  indulgent  parent. 
On  the  other  hand,  he  could  not  return  a  favorable 
report  where  he  found  so  much  to  condemn,  and 
he  had  no  idea  of  stultifying  himself  by  doing  so, 
a  course  that  would  virtually  amount  to  an  indorse- 
ment of  Gardwell  and  his  methods.  In  this  di- 
lemma he  had  recourse  to  an  expedient  not  in- 
frequently seized  upon  by  statesmen  when  hard 
pressed.  He  resolved  to  frame  a  report  which 
would  be  unstinting  in  its  denunciation  of  the 
system  and  principles  that  made  such  occurrences 
possible,  and  to  let  the  blame  rest  on  the  system 
rather  than  upon  the  individuals  involved.  With 
this  happy  solution  he  threw  himself  on  his  bed 
with  a  clear  conscience,  and  went  to  sleep  with  a 
vision  of  Harriet  before  his  eyes. 

Gardwell  was  racked  by  deeper  passions.  He 
knew  too  well  the  influence  of  personalities,  one 
on  another;  and  while  he  felt  that  the  result  of 
Harriet's  visit  could  not  fail  to  be  of  great  value 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  297 

to  himself  and  his  associates,  he  began  to  fear  that 
perhaps  he  might  have  to  pay  too  dearly  for  it; 
for  had  it  come  to  a  blunt  proposition  to  lose  a 
million  dollars  or  Harriet  Dunn,  he  would  have 
given  the  million  up  without  a  moment's  hesita- 
tion. It  was  her  tear-stained  face  and  the  kiss  at 
the  carriage  that  had  aroused  his  forebodings  and 
unleashed  the  green-eyed  monster  within,  to  rage 
uncurbed,  for  Gardwell  had  never  before  been 
jealous  of  any  man. 

Lost  in  reverie,  he  sat  for  a  long  time  after  he 
reached  his  apartments,  and  he  grew  despondent, 
a  mood  to  which  he  was  not  at  all  prone.  A  feel- 
ing of  gloomy  foreboding  seemed  to  settle  down 
upon  him  like  a  dank  cloud  of  vapor  smothering 
the  workings  of  his  mind  and  dimming  the  view 
that  he  must  needs  take  into  the  future.  In  vain 
he  strove  to  shake  it  off.  He  talked  aloud  in  a 
jovial  voice,  but  the  shallowness  of  the  pretense 
was  apparent  to  him.  He  felt  that  he  was  acting 
(himself  both  performer  and  audience),  and  ceased 
in  disgust.  He  poured  out  a  glass  of  brandy,  but 
as  he  was  raising  it  to  his  lips  he  stopped,  and 
suddenly  threw  the  contents  on  the  rug  at  his  feet, 
exclaiming,  "The  first  resort  of  a  weak  man,  the 
last  for  a  strong  one!  " 

The  gloomy  spirit  was  upon  him ;  and  as  he  sat 
with  his  haggard  face  resting  on  the  palms  of  his 
hands,  with  his  elbows  on  his  knees,  none  may 
know  what  were  his  thoughts.  But  they  were 
black  enough,  and  dealt  with  many  deeds  that 


298  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

were  dark,  and  in  which  money  was  not  always 
a  controlling  factor.  At  last  he  arose,  and,  going 
to  a  cabinet,  opened  a  drawer  from  which  he  took 
a  bundle  of  letters.  He  smiled  cynically  as  he 
ran  them  over  and  glanced  at  the  name  on  the 
envelope,  and  which  was  not  that  of  Elliot  Gard- 
well.  They  were  addressed  to  various  cities  through- 
out the  country,  —  Louisville,  St.  Louis,  Cincin- 
nati, and  other  places  of  lesser  size,  —  indicating 
that  the  person  to  whom  they  were  sent  had  led  a 
roving  life. 

"Poor  fellow,"  he  said,  with  an  ironical  laugh, 
"he  is  dead,  and  his  creator  will  now  destroy  the 
last  proof  of  his  having  once  lived.  He  received 
many  letters,  but,  thank  heaven!  he  answered 
none." 

With  that  he  placed  them  in  the  grate  and, 
touching  a  match,  watched  them  as  they  blazed  up 
and  slowly  became  black  and  charred. 

As  if  the  blaze  had  worked  a  charm  upon  him, 
his  mood  suddenly  changed,  and  he  felt  a  strong 
exhilaration. 

"The  last  bridge  is  crossed!  "  he  exclaimed  tri- 
umphantly. "The  young  upstart  will  give  us  the 
report  we  want,  the  Trans  -  American  will  be 
smooth  sailing  after  that,  and  then  —  Harriet, 
sweet  Harriet,  you  shall  be  mine.  These  eyes 
will  not  fail  me." 

He  walked  to  a  mirror  and  gazed  for  some  mo- 
ments into  their  black  depths. 

"There  is  something  in  them,"  he  said  at  last, 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  299 

"that  even  I  cannot  look  long  upon;  and  you, 
dear  Harriet,  are  but  a  needle  following  a  magnet 
when  they  are  fixed  on  you.  The  next  time  we 
meet  alone,  it  will  be  again  as  I  will." 

But  even  as  he  spoke,  the  girl  herself  had  made 
a  resolve,  and  one  that  she  kept. 

The  closing;  events  of  the  examination  of  the 

O 

Congressional  Committee  into  the  proceedings 
growing  out  of  the  Trans-American  receivership 
were  not  above  the  commonplace.  A  few  witnesses 
were  examined,  and  the  chairman  announced  that 
the  investigation  was  concluded.  The  three  mem- 
bers of  this  court  of  inquiry  left  that  night  for 
Washington.  Before  they  departed,  however, 
Gardwell  received  assurances  that  their  report 
would  not  contain  any  strictures  upon  Judge 
Dunn,  a  bit  of  knowledge  that  he  kept  to  himself. 
To  Bass  and  Skeener  he  expressed  the  utmost  con- 
fidence that  the  finding  would  be  satisfactory  to 
all  involved,  and  he  again  adopted  the  light-hearted- 
ness,  not  to  say  frivolity,  of  manner  which  had  so 
alarmed  and  annoyed  them  before. 

The  judge  was  very  busy  with  a  law  case  which 
kept  him  searching  records  each  night,  and  was 
unable  to  see  Gardwell  when  he  called ;  and  when 
Gardwell  sought  an  interview  with  Harriet,  he  was 
informed  that  she  was  indisposed.  This  annoyed 
him  at  first,  and  he  was  inclined  to  insist  on  his 
right  to  see  her,  but  he  accepted  the  explanation 
that  she  was  suffering  from  a  severe  sick  head- 
ache, and  went  away. 


300  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

The  circumstances  of  the  congressional  investi- 
gation had  made  a  deep  impression  upon  the 
judge,  and  given  rise  to  doubts  in  his  mind  whether 
he  had  been  wholly  without  blame  in  going  to  the 
extreme  that  had  marked  his  course.  But  so 
strong  had  been  the  influence  of  Gardwell,  coupled 
with  the  manifold  congratulations  that  were  thrust 
upon  him  by  all  with  whom  he  was  associated,  that 
he  dismissed  his  doubts  as  simply  evidences  of 
weakness  in  his  own  character.  He  confined  his 
reading  to  papers  wherein  he  was  sure  of  finding 
commendation  of  his  attitude,  and  he  further  for- 
tified his  position  by  studying  only  such  works  as 
treated  the  menacing  problems  of  the  hour  as  being 
the  result  of  agitation  by  designing  demagogues 
among  ignorant  foreigners  incapable  of  under- 
standing our  institutions.  He  was  now  become 
quite  a  lion  in  the  club,  which,  however,  he  did 
not  frequent  as  much  as  formerly,  but  where  his 
appearance  was  the  signal  for  the  gathering  of  all 
the  older  money-bags  about  him  to  shower  upon 
him  their  encomiums  for  his  "brave  and  manly 
course  in  disregarding  the  clamor  of  a  misguided 
public." 

Van  Tipple,  on  several  occasions,  had  given 
him  to  understand  that  fortune  had  smiled  upon 
their  joint  speculation,  and  that  the  total  sum  had 
now  reached  upwards  of  fifty  thousand  dollars. 
Although  at  first  he  had  been  an  unwilling  partici- 
pant in  this  speculation,  if  so  it  may  be  termed, 
he  was  not  at  all  sorry  now  that  he  had  entered 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  301 

into  it.  So  great  was  the  change  in  his  character 
that  he  even  took  no  small  delight  in  figuring  over 
the  amount  to  which  it  might  grow,  like  the  game- 
ster when  he  is  first  enticed  into  a  game,  and  en- 
joys the  thrill  of  winning.  Take  it  all  in  all,  there 
had  been  so  great  a  change  in  this  man,  that  there 
was  no  more  resemblance  between  the  Judge  Dunn 
of  Bowerville  and  the  Judge  Dunn  of  the  federal 
court  than  there  is  between  the  humblest  laboring 
man  and  the  millionaire.  For  Gardwell  he  still 
had  the  profoundest  regard,  but  he  no  longer 
looked  upon  him  as  a  guide  and  adviser.  He  had 
learned  to  walk  alone  in  his  new  sphere,  and  the 
success  which  he  had  achieved  and  the  commenda- 
tions which  he  had  earned  he  believed  were  the 
result  of  his  own  clear  discernment  of  what,  under 
the  circumstances,  was  right.  On  several  occa- 
sions, and  with  a  tinge  of  jealousy,  he  had  heard 
Gardwell  given  great  credit  for  certain  events 
for  which  he  believed  himself  wholly  responsible. 
He  accordingly  resolved  to  keep  more  aloof  from 
the  younger  man  in  the  future,  and  to  teach  him 
and  the  world  in  general  that  his  services  were  not 
at  all  essential  to  the  proper  conduct  of  the  federal 
court,  and  he  was  perfectly  sincere  in  the  belief 
that  he  had  not  been  influenced  by  Gardwell  or 
any  other  man. 

It  was  Harriet  alone  who  had  inspiration  to 
discern  the  true  state  of  affairs.  She  had  compre- 
hended the  whole  plan  in  an  instant,  while  talking 
with  her  mother  on  the  night  that  she  went  to  see 


302  THE   FEDERAL    JUDGE 

Emmersley.  The  adventures  of  that  night  had 
been  such  a  strain  on  her  nerves  that  it  brought 
on  a  fit  of  sickness  which  kept  her  to  her  bed  for 
several  days.  She  had  conceived  a  loathing  for 
Gardwell,  whom  she  now  saw  in  his  true  light, 
while  her  old  attachment  for  Emmersley  had  burst 
forth  into  love  as  deep-seated  as  it  was  strong  and 
tender.  She  recalled  the  many  arts  which  Gard- 
well had  practiced  to  ensnare  her  heart  and  gain 
her  consent  to  marriage,  and  she  contrasted  them 
with  the  blunt,  honest  conduct  of  the  friend  of  her 
earlier  days.  She  was  tempted  to  write  to  Gard- 
well, renouncing  him  forever,  and  apprising  him 
of  the  fact  that  she  knew  of  his  fascinating  and 
insidious  influence  upon  her  father;  but  she  feared 
his  power  and  his  resentment,  which,  not  being 
able  to  injure  her,  would  be  directed  against  her 
father.  In  this  confusion  of  mind  she  had  re- 
course to  the  plea  of  sickness,  which  granted  her 
a  seclusion  that  she  could  not  otherwise  have  ob- 
tained, and  which  she  took  advantage  of  long  after 
she  was  wholly  able  to  be  up  and  about.  She 
feigned  a  nervousness  verging  almost  on  hysteria 
whenever  the  doctor  was  present,  which  so  im- 
pressed that  worthy  man  that  he  was  deaf  alike 
to  the  entreaties  and  threats  of  Gardwell,  who 
sought  to  see  her.  In  the  meantime  she  waited 
anxiously  for  the  report  of  the  Congressional  In- 
vestigating Committee. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

IN  the  employ  of  Gardwell  there  was  a  man  by 
the  name  of  Anson  McGregor,  a  sort  of  confiden- 
tial bookkeeper,  in  which  capacity  he  had  served 
for  many  years.  He  was  between  fifty  and  sixty 
years  of  age,  rugged  of  constitution,  and  showed 
none  of  the  stoop  and  pallor  that  usually  come  to 
those  who  scribble  figures  in  big  books.  Among 
his  few  intimate  associates,  and  in  the  several  de- 
partments of  the  company  into  which  his  work 
took  him,  he  was  said  to  possess  a  magnetic  fac- 
ulty by  which  he  could  afford  almost  instant  relief 
to  persons  suffering  from  small  ills,  such  as  head- 
aches or  anything,  in  fact,  where  the  nerves  were 
affected.  He  was  exceedingly  chary  of  exercising 
this  power,  not  wishing  to  be  looked  upon  as  a 
charlatan,  but  many  of  those  who  at  first  were  the 
greatest  doubters  had  gradually  grown  to  repose 
the  utmost  confidence  in  his  ability  as  a  "  magnetic 
healer." 

When  Gardwell,  just  before  the  arrival  of  the 
Congressional  Committee,  had  shown  those  signs 
of  nervous  derangement  and  mental  disquietude 
which  had  so  alarmed  his  associates,  an  under 
secretary  had  made  bold  to  inform  Skeener  of 
McGregor's  strange  attainments.  Skeener  saw 


304  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

the  drift  immediately,  and  by  a  subterfuge  set 
McGregor  at  some  work  in  the  room  with  Gard- 
well.  On  several  occasions  when  Gardwell  was 
visited  by  paroxysms  of  rage  or  unnatural  hilarity, 
McGregor  had  quieted  him  simply  by  standing  be- 
hind his  chair  and  slowly  moving  his  hands  above 
his  head. 

Gardwell  had  now  begun  to  show  returning  signs 
of  his  old  trouble,  and  had  alarmed  his  associates 
by  his  flightiness;  while  his  sudden  outbursts  of 
ungovernable  passion  over  trivial  occurrences,  such 
as  a  misplaced  character  in  a  typewritten  letter, 
or  an  unwelcome  caller,  kept  his  subordinates  in 
a  constant  state  of  terror.  McGregor  was  again 
installed  in  the  office  upon  a  pretext  invented  by 
Skeener,  who  brought  him  a  large  batch  of  papers 
to  be  indexed,  and  both  Bass  and  Skeener  noticed 
with  secret  gratification  that  Gardwell  greeted  the 
old  man  with  great  friendliness,  and  assigned  him 
a  desk  in  one  corner  of  the  room.  There  was 
something  in  Gar  dwell 's  manner  that  told  the  old 
Scotchman  that  he  knew  more  about  him  than  he 
cared  to  admit  before  Bass  or  Skeener;  and  one 
day  when  they  were  alone,  and  the  corporation 
general  had  been  resting  for  a  while  with  his  fore- 
head in  his  hands,  he  suddenly  wheeled  about  and 
said :  — 

"McGregor,  they  tell  me  you  have  the  power  to 
remove  headaches  simply  by  laying  on  hands.  I 
want  you  to  try  it  on  me.  I  have  an  incessant 
pain  in  the  top  of  my  head.  Come,  man,  don't 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  305 

sit  there  like  a  doddering  idiot,  looking  at  me  as 
if  you  never  saw  a  man  with  a  headache." 

McGregor  arose  and,  placing  a  chair  in  front  of 
the  ailing  man,  held  his  hands  in  his  own  for  a 
few  moments,  gazing  intently  into  his  eyes.  He 
then  made  a  few  passes  across  his  forehead  and 
leaned  back  in  his  chair. 

Gardwell  shook  his  head  several  times,  and  a 
pleased  look  of  surprise  came  into  his  face. 

"  Wonderful  !  wonderful  !  "  he  exclaimed. 
"Why,  the  pain  is  gone,  gone  for  the  first  time 
in  twenty-four  hours.  How  long  have  you  been 
with  the  company,  McGregor?" 

"  Twenty-five  years  come  the  5th  of  next  Decem- 
ber," replied  McGregor. 

"Twenty -five  years  of  faithful  service  should  be 
rewarded.  You  will  be  retired  on  a  pension  on 
December  5."  He  scribbled  a  memorandum  on  a 
bit  of  paper,  and  tossed  it  into  a  pigeonhole  in  his 
desk. 

Bass  and  Skeener  were  announced  at  this  mo- 
ment, and  they  were  rejoiced  to  find  Gardwell  in 
something  like  his  old  frame  of  mind.  They  dis- 
cussed Trans-American  affairs,  listened  to  his  clear- 
cut  plans  for  future  operations,  and  received  his 
assurances  that  they  need  have  no  fears  about  the 
congressional  report,  with  more  confidence  than 
they  had  before  felt.  He  was  in  a  particularly 
joyous  mood,  and  concluded  by  saying :  — 

"And  now,  my  friends,  I  may  as  well  tell  you 
that  I  have  had  enough  of  this.  The  way  is  clear 


306  THE   FEDERAL    JUDGE 

for  the  Trans-American,  and  I  intend  to  straighten 
up  my  affairs  and  take  a  rest.  My  marriage  will 
take  place  at  once,  and  I  shall  spend  several  years 
abroad.  She  is  the  most  lovely,  the  most  charm- 
ing, the  most" 

McGregor  had  risen  noiselessly,  and  stood  be- 
hind Gard well's  chair,  moving  his  hands  in  the 
air. 

Gardwell  stopped,  his  head  dropped  back,  and 
his  eyelids  closed  for  an  instant.  Presently  he 
opened  them  again,  and  said:  — 

"What  was  I  saying?  Oh,  yes.  We  had  bet- 
ter walk  over  to  the  club.  I  wish  to  see  Judge 
Dunn." 

That  evening  Gardwell  and  the  judge  had  a 
long  talk  together  in  a  corner  of  the  big  reading- 
room.  He  was  greatly  surprised  to  find  that  the 
judge  had  materially  modified  his  views  regarding 
the  marriage,  and  showed  none  of  the  enthusiasm 
with  which  he  had  spoken  of  it  on  former  occa- 
sions. On  the  contrary,  he  said  that  if  the  Con- 
gressional Committee's  report  in  any  way  coupled 
his  name  with  Gard  well's  or  subjected  him  to  any 
condemnation,  the  marriage  should  be  indefinitely 
postponed. 

"My  standing  is  such  before  the  country,  Mr. 
Gardwell,"  said  the  judge  somewhat  pompously, 
"that  I  could  not  afford  to  allow  anything  that 
might  be  construed  as  corroborative  of  insinuations 
recently  made  by  the  young  Populist  demagogue, 
who  is  at  the  bottom  of  the  whole  conspiracy." 


THE    FEDERAL   JUDGE  307 

As  Gardwell  felt  easy  on  this  score,  and  was 
confident  that  Harriet's  tears  had  secured  protec- 
tion for  both  herself  and  the  judge,  he  readily 
acquiesced  and  made  further  terms  to  the  effect 
that  in  case  the  report  was  satisfactory  in  the  re- 
spects named,  his  marriage  with  Harriet  should 
take  place  at  once.  To  this  the  judge  agreed. 
But  Gardwell  marveled  greatly  at  the  change  in 
the  judge's  manner  towards  him.  He  laughed 
bitterly  as  he  walked  to  his  apartments. 

"He  has  taken  his  degree  and  graduated  with 
high  honors,"  he  soliloquized,  ubut  forgets  that  he 
ever  had  a  tutor.  He  would  take  oath  on  a  stack 
of  Bibles  as  high  as  the  Eiffel  Tower  that  I  have 
never  influenced  him,  one  way  or  the  other,  and 
the  recording  angel  would  have  to  accept  it  as 
being  to  the  best  of  his  knowledge  and  belief.  He 
has  fed  on  the  meat  of  newspaper  praise,  and  mis- 
takes the  flattery  of  the  money  class  for  the  voice 
of  the  people.  I  have  given  my  friends  a  stout 
champion,  but  when  the  storm  breaks  I  shall  be 
safe  on  the  other  side  of  the  water."  And  he 
laughed  again,  though  with  less  of  bitterness  as  he 
contemplated  the  prospect  of  his  trip  abroad,  for  he 
always  thought  of  Harriet  in  connection  with  that. 

Gardwell  slept  but  little,  and  his  nervousness 
and  general  deportment  alarmed  his  friends  Bass 
and  Skeener.  As  for  his  physician  he  had  long 
since  dismissed  him,  and  refused  to  have  anything 
to  do  with  any  of  the  tribe.  "A  pack  of  shallow 
confidence  men  they  are,"  he  declared,  "whose 


308  THE    FEDERAL    JUDGE 

sole  aim  is  to  ascertain  just  what  the  patient  is 
wholly  unable  to  do,  and  then  offer  it  as  a  pre- 
scription. Rest  and  quiet  for  me!  drop  every- 
thing and  retire  to  some  secluded  nook  just  at  the 
moment  when  I  am  about  to  reap  the  reward  which 
I  have  given  the  best  years  of  my  life  to  attain. 
As  well  tell  the  hungry  tiger  with  his  prey  in  his 
claws  that  a  vegetable  diet  is  his  only  salvation. 
He  would  rather  eat  and  be  damned." 

It  was  in  the  afternoon,  and  McGregor  and 
Gardwell  were  alone  in  the  office.  The  older 
man  had  occasion  to  leave  the  room  for  a  moment, 
and  when  he  returned  he  came  face  to  face  with 
Gardwell,  who  had  risen  and  was  pacing  back  and 
forth.  As  he  met  his  gaze,  he  started  back, 
dropped  the  papers  that  he  held  in  his  hands,  and 
uttered  an  exclamation  of  horror  and  dismay. 

"What  the  devil  is  the  matter  with  you,  Mc- 
Gregor?" cried  Gardwell,  at  the  same  time  quickly 
turning  and  looking  behind  him,  for  McGregor's 
eyes  seemed  to  be  fixed  on  some  object  beyond 
Gardwell. 

McGregor  made  no  reply,  but  began  to  gather 
up  the  papers  which  he  had  dropped.  When  he 
arose  with  them  in  his  hands,  Gardwell  repeated 
his  question  in  a  more  peremptory  tone. 

"Why,  nothing,  Mr.  Gardwell,"  stammered  the 
old  man;  "I  had  a  little  start,  that  was  all.  It 
was  a  rush  of  blood  to  the  head.  Nothing  serious. 
I  am  all  right  now." 

But  his  manner  was  such  that  Gardwell,  with 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  309 

his  keen  penetration,  saw  that  he  was  withholding 
something,  and  he  resolved  to  know  what  it  was. 

"Put  your  papers  down  and  take  a  seat,"  he 
said,  at  the  same  time  drawing  his  own  chair  over 
and  seating  himself.  "Now,  McGregor,  there  is 
no  use  attempting  to  conceal  anything  from  me. 
What  did  you  see?  " 

McGregor  made  no  reply,  and  sat  with  bowed 
head  before  his  chief. 

At  last  he  answered  in  a  low  voice,  and  without 
looking  up :  "  It  would  be  better  for  all  concerned 
if  I  did  not  answer.  I  beg  of  you,  Mr.  Gardwell, 
not  to  force  me  into  revealing  something  that  for 
your  sake  I  would  keep  to  myself." 

"Since  when  have  you  become  my  guardian?" 
cried  Gardwell,  the  blood  rushing  to  his  face,  and 
the  long  ridge  beginning  to  grow  on  his  forehead. 
"You  presume  too  much  on  the  familiarity  with 
which  I  have  treated  you.  I  command  you  to 
speak  up  at  once.  It  will  go  hard  with  you  if  you 
are  not  frank  spoken,"  he  added. 

Thus  addressed,  the  old  ma'n,  after  casting  an 
imploring  look  at  his  commander,  cleared  his  throat 
and  began :  — 

"  I  have  no  alternative  but  to  obey  your  orders, 
but  I  ask  that  what  I  may  tell  you  shall  be  con- 
sidered as  strictly  between  ourselves." 

Gardwell  nodded  impatiently,  and  the  Scotch- 
man continued :  — 

"I  am  descended,  Mr.  Gardwell,  from  a  Scot- 
tish family,  the  name  of  which  is  familiar  to  all 


310  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

who  have  read  the  works  of  Sir  Walter  Scott.  In 
our  clan,  at  least  in  one  branch  of  it,  there  were 
men,  and  in  some  instances  women,  who  were  re- 
puted to  be  possessed  of  powers  beyond  the  com- 
mon ken  of  men.  These  powers  were  used  for 
the  healing  of  the  sick,  but  oftentimes  in  forewarn- 
ing friends  of  an  impending  evil.  The  gift,  or 
curse,  whichever  you  may  choose  to  call  it,  has 
been  transmitted,  skipping  several  generations,  or 
remaining  dormant  in  individuals  who  never  dis- 
covered, or  at  least  revealed,  their  strange  powers. 
With  me  it  has  been  exercised  in  the  direction  of 
alleviating  certain  ailments  of  a  nervous  nature. 
I  have  never  sought  to  develop  it,  excepting  in 
that  direction.  In  our  family  there  was,  as  the 
sign  of  approaching  danger,  like  the  white  lady  of 
the  Campbells  or  the  wraith  of  the  Bruces,  a 
black  mark  or  disk  suspended  in  the  air  behind, 
or  slightly  over,  the  person  marked  by  fate.  I 
have  seen  it  but  three  times  in  my  life,  and  its 
appearance  has  been  the  forerunner  of  great  dis- 
aster to  the  person  about  whom  it  hovered." 

He  stopped  here,  as  if  filled  with  a  greater  hor- 
ror than  he  dared  express,  and  Gardwell,  who  had 
listened  to  the  recital  without  moving  a  muscle, 
said  in  a  smooth  and  easy  tone :  — 

"  And  the  last  time  you  saw  it?  " 

"Was  just  now,  behind  your  head,"  answered 
McGregor. 

Gardwell  sprang  to  his  feet,  upsetting  the  chair 
as  he  did  so. 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  311 

"You  are  a  damned  old  charlatan!"  he  cried 
fiercely,  his  eyes  blazing  and  his  lips  twitching. 
"Do  you  think  to  frighten  me  with  a  lot  of  six- 
teenth-century gibberish?  I  myself  practice  the 
art  of  which  your  hag  of  a  granddame  was  an 
adept,  but  mine  is  on  the  nineteenth-century  basis. 
Here,  Finley,"  he  yelled,  pressing  his  electric  call- 
button  until  the  blood  trickled  from  under  his 
thumb-nail,  "why  in  the  devil  don't  you  answer 
when  I  call?"  he  roared,  as  the  clerk  rushed  into 
the  room. 

"Take  this  blithering  old  fakir  and  blackmailer 
and  give  him  his  salary  to  the  first  of  the  month. 
And  mind  you,  put  a  black  mark  opposite  his 
name  on  the  pay-roll,  and  never  allow  him  in  the 
building  again.  Why  are  you  standing  there  with 
your  mouth  open?  Can't  you  understand  the  Eng- 
lish language?" 

"But,  Mr.  Gardwell"  — began  the  affrighted 
clerk. 

"Don't  open  ypur  mouth  again,  Finley,  or  I 
will  treat  you  to  the  same  medicine  I  am  dealing 
out  to  this  old  quack.  Take  him  away,  I  say." 

McGregor  had  arisen,  and  was  tottering  toward 
the  door. 

"Hold  on!"  cried  Gardwell,  "I  forgot  to  ask 
you,  McGregor,  how  much  money  it  would  take  to 
wipe  out  that  black  mark?" 

McGregor  drew  himself  up  and,  looking  steadily 
into  Gar d well's  sneering  face,  replied  in  a  dialect 
that  none  had  ever  before  heard  him  use :  — 


312  THE   FEDERAL    JUDGE 

"Ye  micht  as  well  try  to  turn  aside  the  thunder- 
bolt wi'  a  wisp  o'  straw,  Elliot  Gardwell.  The 
hand  o'  fate  has  no  itching  palm,  and  a  barrel  o' 
gold  not  ha'  the  power  of  an  honest  prayer." 

"Take  him  away !  "  cried  Gardwell  in  a  frenzy, 
"take  him  away;  pay  him  off  and  drop  him  down 
the  elevator  shaft,  for  all  I  care." 

He  hustled  the  two  men  out  of  the  room,  and 
locked  the  door. 

Finley,  much  alarmed,  after  consultation  with 
several  clerks,  sent  for  Skeener,  and  half  an  hour 
later  that  gentleman  rapped  on  Gard well's  door. 
It  was  opened  to  him  in  a  moment,  and  Gardwell 
greeted  the  lawyer  with  great  cordiality.  He  ap- 
peared calm,  and  Skeener  did  not  refer  to  the 
episode  with  which  Finley  had  just  made  him 
familiar.  They  chatted  pleasantly,  and  Skeener 
accidentally  touched  on  the  forthcoming  report  of 
the  Congressional  Committee. 

"I  take  a  great  interest  in  it,"  he  said.  "I 
should  hate  to  see  Judge  Dunji  in  any  way  cen- 
sured for  his  actions  in  the  matter." 

"You  may  take  a  deep  interest  in  it,  but  how 
much  deeper  mine  is  you  cannot  conceive,"  replied 
Gardwell.  "  Skeener,  upon  it  depends  my  future 
happiness,  beside  which  the  money  interests  are 
nothing  to  me.  To  be  frank  with  you,  upon  that 
report  depends  whether  or  not  I  shall  marry  the 
only  woman  I  ever  loved,  Harriet  Dunn.  If  there 
are  any  strictures  upon  the  judge  he  will  withhold 
his  consent,  and  that  means  a  long  and  rocky  road 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  313 

for  me  to  travel,  for  I  shall  never  turn  back  until 
I  have  won  her.  But  I  have  no  fears.  It  will  be 
all  right,  for  the  queen  was  the  highest  trump 
out,  and  I  played  her  to  take  the  knave,  —  and 
the  knave  was  Emmersley,  the  Populist  patriot." 

The  door  opened,  and  Finley  brought  in  the 
evening  paper,  which  he  laid  on  Gard well's  desk. 
Pie  picked  it  up,  glanced  at  it  an  instant,  and 
then  jumped  to  his  feet. 

"Here  it  is!  "  he  cried.  "Judge  Dunn  exoner- 
ated!" 

Skeener  looked  over  his  shoulder,  and  the  two 
men  hastily  read  the  report  of  the  committee, 
which  was  a  lengthy  document. 

"They  handle  the  federal  judiciary  without 
gloves,"  remarked  Skeener.  "'But  we  find  in  this 
instance  that  Judge  Dunn,  taking  the  precedents 
established  by  other  federal  judges,  simply  did 
what  these  precedents,  usurpations  of  power  as 
they  were,  logically  led  to,'  "  said  Gardwell,  read- 
ing from  the  report. 

"The  corrupting  influences  of  corporations  are 
denounced  in  plain  enough  language,"  said  Skeener. 
"That  hits  us  rather  hard." 

"What  do  we  care?"  cried  Gardwell  exultantly. 
"The  judge  is  not  hurt,  and  my  plans  are  not  in- 
terfered with." 

"This  report  cannot  but  have  great  effect  upon 
future  litigation  in  connection  with  Trans-Ameri- 
can affairs,"  continued  Skeener  quietly.  "In  the 
face  of  this,  no  judge  will  have  the  hardihood  to 


314  THE    FEDERAL   JUDGE 

sustain  us  even  to  the  extent  that  we  have  gone, 
let  alone  any  further." 

"I  do  not  propose  to  worry  about  the  Trans- 
American  now,"  exclaimed  Gardwell.  "I  have 
spent  too  many  sleepless  nights  over  it.  It  will 
not  trouble  me  much  longer." 

Skeener  shot  a  keen  glance  at  Gardwell,  and  a 
low  whistle  escaped  his  lips. 

"Gardwell,"  he  asked,  "have  you  unloaded?" 

"  When  a  man  decides  to  marry  and  settle  down, 
he  usually  arranges  his  affairs  so  as  to  insure  his 
having  some  time  to  devote  to  his  wife."  He 
looked  Skeener  full  in  the  eye  as  he  spoke.  "But 
you  will  excuse  me,  I  must  hasten  to  let  Judge 
Dunn  know  the  result.  I  will  meet  you  and  Bass 
here  to-morrow  morning." 

He  picked  up  his  hat  and,  dashing  through  the 
door,  left  Skeener  to  follow  with  a  great  load  of 
doubt  on  his  mind. 


CHAPTER  XXV 

GARDWELL  felt  that  he  was  now  close  to  the 
reward  for  which  he  had  struggled  so  hard,  and 
which  had  caused  him  to  swerve  from  the  path 
which  led  to  the  height  of  power  where  wealth  was 
the  sceptre  and  a  corporation  desk  the  throne. 
He  cared  for  none  of  this  now,  —  at  least  in  his 
present  mood;  he  thought  only  of  the  lovely  Har- 
riet, whom  he  had  vowed  he  would  possess.  He 
went  to  his  apartments  before  starting  for  the 
judge's  house,  and  there  he  chanced  to  notice  on 
his  dressing-case  a  number  of  choice  butterflies, 
which  he  had  been  saving  for  special  emergencies. 
He  had  correspondents  in  various  parts  who  still 
sent  him  rare  specimens  whenever  such  came  into 
their  possession,  and  from  one  of  these  he  had 
recently  received  a  duplicate  of  the  species  with 
which  he  had  first  insinuated  himself  into  the  good 
graces  of  the  judge.  He  took  this  one  from  the 
box  now,  and  a  glow  of  satisfaction  lit  up  his  face 
as  he  examined  it. 

"The  Black  Witch,"  he  murmured;  "indeed, 
it  was  a  witch  to  me,  and  none  ever  gave  more  to 
man.  I  '11  take  this  to  the  judge  to-night,  and 
my  coming  will  be  doubly  welcome." 

Gardwell  had  wisely  waited  to  allow  the  judge 


316  THE   FEDERAL    JUDGE 

time  to  receive  the  news  from  Washington,  and  he 
found  him  beaming  with  satisfaction  and  radiant 
with  self -congratulation  at  having  escaped  censure 
from  one  so  biased  as  he  believed  Emmersley  to  be. 

"Ah,  my  dear  Gardwell,"  he  cried,  "I  am  de- 
lighted to  see  you  to-night !  The  language  of  the 
report,  which  I  have  just  read,  is  such  as  to  most 
emphatically  rebuke  those  who  have  taken  occasion 
to  criticise  me  for  my  actions  in  the  railroad  mat- 
ter. I  hardly  expected  as  much  from  the  young 
man  who  was  chairman  of  that  committee,  and  yet, 
when  I  come  to  think  of  it,  and  of  how  he  knew 
me  in  Bowerville,  he  could  not  have  done  anything 
else." 

Gardwell  smiled  assent,  and  wrung  the  hand 
that  the  judge  extended. 

"The  strictures  that  are  made  upon  the  federal 
judiciary  are  of  course  entirely  unfounded,"  he 
continued,  "but  they  are  in  line  with  the  general 
misconception  on  the  part  of  the  public,  and  Mr. 
Emmersley  perhaps  ought  not  to  be  blamed  for 
falling  into  the  popular  error.  To  be  frank,  I 
myself  at  one  time  was  guilty  of  this  same  mis- 
conception. But  all  's  well  that  ends  well,  and  I 
am  content  to  have  suffered  some  uneasiness  of 
mind  when  I  reflect  that  the  right  of  the  property 
to  full  protection  was  insured  by  the  firm  stand 
that  I  made.  Without  full  protection  to  property 
interests  at  all  hazards,  Mr.  Gardwell,  there  can 
be  no  stability  to  our  institutions." 

Mechanically  the  two  men  climbed  the  stairs, 


THE  FEDERAL  JUDGE  317 

and  before  they  realized  it  were  standing  in  the 
butterfly  study.  The  judge  ceased  speaking,  and 
looked  around. 

"Well,"  he  exclaimed,  "I  don't  know  what 
brought  me  up  here !  " 

"But  I  do,"  cried  Gardwell,  drawing  a  box 
from  his  pocket.  Raising  the  cover,  he  exposed 
the  Black  Witch  to  view. 

The  judge  uttered  an  exclamation  of  surprise 
and  rapture. 

"The  grandest  specimen  in  the  world!"  he 
cried.  "So  we  each  have  a  specimen  now." 

"No,"  Gardwell  said,  "this  is  yours.  I  am  in- 
terested in  seeing  you  have  a  collection  which  will 
outshine  any  in  the  world." 

"Well,"  said  the  judge,  after  a  pause,  "I  will 
take  it  with  no  further  protest,  for  after  all  it  is 
you  who  will  inherit  the  collection,  which  will  in 
time  become  a  famous  one." 

As  he  spoke,  he  laid  his  hand  on  Gard well's 
shoulder,  and  looked  him  full  in  the  eyes. 

"Then  I  have  your  consent  to  our  speedy  mar- 
riage?" cried  Gardwell  eagerly. 

"Why,  certainly,"  answered  the  judge,  a  trifle 
surprised  at  Gardwell's  manner.  "Had  you  any 
doubts  on  that  score?" 

Gardwell  flushed  and  seemed  deeply  moved. 
His  lips  twitched  and  his  body  swayed,  while  a 
tremor  shook  his  frame.  The  judge,  greatly 
alarmed,  stepped  forward  and  would  have  caught 
him,  but  Gardwell  quickly  recovered  himself. 


318  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

"It  is  nothing,"  he  said;  "only  a  slight  attack 
of  vertigo.  I  have  worked  rather  hard  lately. 
But,  thank  God !  it  is  now  over ;  my  struggles  are 
ended." 

"You  must  take  care  of  yourself,"  said  the 
judge;  "you  need  a  rest." 

"There  it  goes  again,"  cried  Gardwell,  half 
rising  from  his  chair,  but  quickly  sinking  back 
again.  "Take  a  rest.  How  could  I  rest?  You 
were  in  danger,  the  Trans-American  trembled  in 
the  balance,  and  that  for  which  I  had  sacrificed 
everything  was  about  to  be  destroyed.  Could  I 
rest  under  such  conditions  ?  If  that  had  been  all, 
I  could  have  stood  it;  but  above  that,  and  above 
all,  I  loved  your  daughter,  and  she,  dearer  than 
everything  else  on  earth,  was,  by  the  force  of  cir- 
cumstances, thrown  in  with  that  for  which  I  strug- 
gled. Fortunate  in  everything  else,  I  began  to 
believe  that  I  should  meet  my  unlucky  star  in  my 
love.  This  thought  grew  on  me  until  it  became 
a  dread  which  haunted  me  day  and  night.  Now 
when  I  hear  from  your  lips  the  words  that  tell  me 
that  my  forebodings  were  unfounded,  the  relaxa- 
tion from  the  strain  unnerves  me." 

He  bowed  his  head  in  his  hands  and  began  to 
whimper  like  a  boy. 

"Why,  man  alive!  what  ails  you?"  said  the 
judge,  slapping  him  on  the  back.  "Your  nerves 
are  unstrung.  You  shall  see  Harriet  at  once,  my 
boy;  she  is  sitting  up  now." 

"No,,  no,"  cried  Gardwell,  starting  up  and  look- 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  319 

ing  wildly  about  him,  "not  now,  not  now.  I  have 
a  terrible  pain  in  my  head,  and  must  be  getting 
home  at  once.  I  will  be  all  right  in  the  morning, 
and  I  promise  to  follow  your  advice,  and  take  a 
rest,  — a  long  one,  too." 

"Very  good,"  said  the  judge,  "you  had  better 
go  home  at  once.  If  you  are  well  to-morrow,  you 
must  dine  with  us." 

The  family  life  of  the  Dunns  had  grown  to  be 
strangely  unlike  what  it  was  at  Bower ville.  The 
judge  was  now  engrossed  in  the  work  of  the  great 
position  which  he  filled,  and  he  felt  himself  to  be 
a  personage  of  no  little  importance  in  the  commu- 
nity, and  even  in  the  country  at  large.  He  spent 
much  of  his  time  at  the  club,  taking  his  mid-day 
meal  there,  and  associating  with  men  whose  sole 
aim  in  life  was  to  perfect  and  strengthen  the  power 
which  they  wielded  by  reason  of  their  wealth  and 
combination.  Their  real  motives  were  veiled  under 
a  great  pretense  of ,  care  for  the  prosperity  of  the 
country  and  the  maintenance  of  institutions  which 
were  democratic  enough  in  name  and  origin,  but 
which  had  been  so  shaped  as  to  enable  them  to 
profit  by  them  to  an  extent  not  dreamed  of  by 
their  originators. 

The  judge  saw  that  wealth  was  but  another 
name  for  liberty,  and  that  the  lack  of  it  was  sla- 
very, the  weight  of  the  chains  depending  only  on 
the  conditions  which  governed  the  individual.  He 
had  grown  to  take  a  deep  interest  in  the  "  Charity 
Fund,"  and  assurances  which  he  received  at  fre- 


320  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

quent  intervals  from  Van  Tipple  made  him  aware 
that  he  was  no  longer  a  poor  man.  But  he  was 
at  heart  no  speculator;  and  having  good  reason  to 
believe  that  his  share  was  now  close  to  fifty  thou- 
sand dollars,  he  decided  to  have  a  division  of  the 
funds  as  soon  as  possible,  a  consummation  which 
he  was  certain  could  be  reached  by  a  word  from 
him  to  Gardwell.  In  this,  however,  he  was  antici- 
pated by  the  corporation  magnate,  who  had  some 
days  before  given  orders  to  Van  Tipple  to  close 
the  account. 

Gardwell  had  for  some  time  been  quietly  at 
work  settling  up  his  affairs  in  such  a  way  as  to 
convert  everything  that  he  possessed  into  money. 
He  foresaw,  or  thought  he  did,  at  least,  the  appre- 
ciation of  money  as  the  result  of  financial  legisla- 
tion which  had  been  enacted  some  years  before, 
and  he  was  in  a  position  to  gather  up  his  effects, 
worth  some  millions,  and  depart  for  other  climes, 
leaving  behind  the  scenes  of  his  struggles  and  his 
triumphs. 

Gardwell  was  devoid  of  that  feeling  which  is  so 
strong  a  trait  in  the  French  character,  and  he  had 
always  cherished  an  ambition  to  pass  the  latter 
part  of  his  life  away  from  a  country  where  he  had 
little  reason  to  expect  favors  saving  those  which 
he  could  exact  by  means  of  a  club  or  secure  by 
trickery.  It  was  his  intention  to  spend  the  rest  of 
his  days  on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic,  amid 
the  roar  of  the  London  business  world,  the  gayety 
of  Paris,  and  the  delights  of  Southern  Europe. 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  321 

He  would  take  his  newly  wedded  wife  to  Europe 
for  a  bridal  trip  and  not  return  for  many  years  — 
perhaps  never. 

The  judge  had  set  his  heart  on  the  marriage 
of  Gardwell  and  Harriet,  for  he  looked  upon  it  as 
an  alliance  that  could  not  fail  to  be  of  material 
advantage  to  himself,  and  he  sincerely  believed 
that  Harriet  loved  Gardwell,  and  would  find  in 
him  a  kind  and  devoted  husband.  Judging  as  he 
did  by  what  he  had  seen  of  the  man,  it  was  not 
strange  that  he  should  rate  Gardwell  extremely 
high. 

He  was  in  an  unusually  pleasant  mood  when  he 
met  his  wife  and  daughter  at  the  breakfast-table ; 
and  Harriet,  who,  whether  from  love  of  Emmers- 
ley  or  anxiety  for  her  father,  had  grown  quite 
pale,  was  overjoyed  to  see  him  thus.  She  con- 
gratulated him  on  the  outcome  of  the  congres- 
sional investigation,  and  ventured  to  express  her 
satisfaction  over  the  fact  that  Emmersley  had  not 
taken  advantage  of  his  position.  Deep  down  in 
her  heart,  she  was  brimming  over  with  gratitude 
to  the  young  congressman,  for  she  felt  that  it  was 
for  her  sake  that  he  had  allowed  Gardwell  to  slip 
through  unlashed,  lest  her  father  should  also  feel 
the  goad  of  official  condemnation. 

"You  are  a  child,  Harriet,"  said  the  judge,  re- 
pressing his  wrath  with  an  effort.  "You  are 
strangely  quick  to  give  credit  to  a  man  who  simply 
confined  himself  to  the  truth,  when  his  past  record 
warranted  the  belief  that  he  might  not  do  so." 


322  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

Harriet  bit  her  lip,  and  was  silent. 

The  judge  was  in  a  talkative  mood,  however, 
and  he  speedily  gave  free  rein  to  his  satisfaction 
at  the  final  outcome. 

"By  the  way,"  he  said,  as  they  were  about  to 
rise  from  the  table,  "I  had  a  pleasant  talk  with 
Mr.  Gardwell  last  evening,  and  I  have  invited 
him  to  dine  with  us  to-night.  I  assured  him  that 
you,  Harriet,  were  now  so  much  improved  that 
you  would  dine  with  us,  and  you  should  have  seen 
his  face  kindle  with  joy.  He  has  suffered  greatly 
by  reason  of  the  strain  he  has  been  under,  and  he 
has  worried  much  over  your  illness.  Ah,  my  dear, 
you  have  secured  a  prize  in  such  a  man,"  and  the 
old  judge,  placing  his  arm  about  the  girl's  waist, 
stooped  to  kiss  her. 

Harriet's  face,  pale  as  it  had  been,  was  now 
white.  She  gave  a  little  gasp  and  then,  steadying 
herself,  said,  in  a  voice  so  low  that  her  mother 
might  not  hear :  — 

"  Father,  I  want  to  see  you  alone,  before  you  go 
down  town." 

"Heigh,  ho !  what 's  this?  "  exclaimed  the  judge, 
lightly  holding  her  at  arm's  length  and  looking 
down  into  her  face. 

"Well,  come  into  the  next  room.  Mother, 
you  '11  excuse  us;  Harriet  has  a  little  secret  to 
whisper  in  my  ears." 

"No,"  cried  the  young  woman,  suddenly  throw- 
ing her  head  up.  "There  shall  be  no  secrets  from 
mother.  Father,"  she  continued,  changing  her 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  323 

tone,  which  was  now  become  inexpressibly  sweet 
and  tender,  "  father,  I  do  not  want  to  do  anything 
that  will  give  you  pain,  but  I  cannot  marry  Elliot 
Gardwell;  I  do  not  love  him." 

If  the  judge  had  been  of  an  apoplectic  tempera- 
ment, he  would  have  dropped  dead  there  and  then. 
There  was  a  white  flash  over  his  face,  and  then 
the  blood  rushed  up  until  it  was  purple,  and  the 
veins  in  his  neck  were  swollen  to  twice  their  nor- 
mal size.  He  tried  to  speak,  but  there  was  only 
a  gurgling  in  his  throat. 

Harriet  sank  to  a  chair  and  cowered  at  the 
dreadful  picture,  but  Mrs.  Dunn  stepped  forward 
and  cried  in  a  pleading  tone :  — 

"  Tracy,  I  beg  of  you !     Tracy !  " 

With  a  mighty  effort  the  old  judge  drew  himself 
together,  and,  waving  his  poor  wife  back  with  fiis 
hand,  he  roared :  — 

44  Back !  back,  I  say !  This  is  a  conspiracy,  and 
for  the  second  time  you  turn  my  own  flesh  and 
blood  against  me.  You  taught  the  boy  to  rebel 
against  my  authority,  until  he  drove  himself  away 
from  his  home,  and  now  you  teach  my  daughter, 
the  idol  of  my  heart,  to  defy  me." 

"Your  charge  is  unjust  and  cruel,"  said  Har- 
riet. "Mother  knows  absolutely  nothing  about 
my  determination." 

Mrs.  Dunn  stood  as  if  stricken  dumb,  gazing  at 
her  husband  with  eyes  in  which  there  was  such  a 
look  of  horror  and  despair  as  would  have  melted 
any  but  a  man  torn  by  passion. 


324  THE    FEDERAL    JUDGE 

"Your  determination?  "  fiercely  interrupted  the 
judge,  pacing  up  and  down  the  room,  and  tearing 
the  newspaper  that  was  in  his  hands  into  shreds. 
"Your  determination?  Girl,  you  have  no  deter- 
mination. It  is  I  who  determine  in  this  family. 
I  will  not  be  thwarted  in  this.  I  have  set  my 
heart  on  it,  and  you  shall  not  blast  the  hopes  of 
one  of  the  noblest  men  I  ever  knew,  simply  to  fol- 
low a  girlish  whim." 

He  paused  for  breath  an  instant,  and  Harriet 
began : — 

"Father,  I"- 

" Silence!"  he  shrieked.  "Not  another  word 
until  I  am  through.  I  am  calm,  and  know  what 
I  am  saying.  You  shall  marry  Elliot  Gardwell, 
or  you  are  no  longer  a  daughter  of  mine.  Yes; 
and  your  mother  shall  go  with  you.  And  further, 
if  you  refuse  to  do  as  I  command  in  this  matter, 
which  is  for  your  own  welfare,  I  will  disown  my 
son,  and  drive  him  from  the  door  as  I  would  a 
leper,  should  he  ever  return." 

"Harriet,  Harriet,"  cried  Mrs.  Dunn,  rushing 
across  the  room  and  throwing  herself  at  her  daugh- 
ter's feet,  "do  not  kill  me!  He  will  return,  I 
know,  and  your  father  will  do  as  he  says.  He 
never  forgets  or  forgives.  Spare  me,  Harriet! 
For  my  sake,  Harriet!  " 

Harriet  stood  for  a  moment  irresolute.  She 
looked  down  at  the  trembling,  withered  woman  at 
her  feet,  and  then  bending  over,  raised  her  up  and 
kissed  her. 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  325 

* 

"I  will  do  as  you  command,"  she  said,  looking 
straight  at  her  father. 

Mrs.  Dunn  gave  a  convulsive  gasp,  fainted,  and 
would  have  sunk  to  the  floor  had  not  Harriet  held 
her. 

The  judge  sprang  forward  and  caught  his  wife 
in  his  arms  and  carried  her  to  a  sofa.  Harriet 
hurried  to  bring  a  glass  of  water,  but  when  she 
returned  her  mother  had  revived.  They  took  her 
up  to  her  room,  and  soon  she  was  resting  quietly, 
except  for  the  tears  that  streamed  from  her  eyes. 

Harriet's  eyes  were  dry,  and  there  was  an  icy 
calmness  about  her  which  chilled  the  judge,  now 
that  he  had  won  the  victory.  It  was  now  close  to 
the  time  when  he  must  open  court,  and,  having 
kissed  his  wife  good-by,  he  left  the  room.  Once 
outside,  however,  he  looked  back  and  beckoned 
Harriet  to  join  him.  She  followed  him  down- 
stairs. Then  he  turned,  and,  taking  her  hands  in 
his,  he  said :  — 

"Forgive  my  violent  language,  my  daughter. 
You  will  never  regret  the  obedience  you  now 
show.  I  know  what  is  for  the  best,  and  to  have 
you  disregard  my  wishes  would  have  broken  my 
heart." 

"You  are  my  father,  and  I  shall  obey,"  was  all 
she  said,  and  he  kissed  her,  and  went  out  into  the 
street. 

"And  he  has  broken  my  heart,"  she  groaned, 
as  she  stood  in  the  doorway  and  watched  him 
trudge  down  the  street,  shaking  his  head  and 


326  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

thumping  the  pavement  with  his  heavy  cane. 
"How  blind  he  is.  Thy  will  be  done!  "  she  mur- 
mured, looking  up  and  clasping  her  hands  as  if 
in  prayer.  Then  she  went  upstairs  to  her  mother. 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

WHEN  Gardwell  had  left  the  judge's  house,  he 
went  directly  to  his  apartments,  which  he  reached 
in  so  weak  a  condition  that  he  could  scarcely  as- 
cend the  short  flight  of  stairs  that  led  up  to  them. 
He  awoke  the  next  morning  with  a  feeling  of  men- 
tal peace,  a  complete  sense  of  relief,  and  a  buoy- 
ancy of  spirit  that  were  alike  as  new  to  him  as 
they  were  welcome.  He  could  hardly  realize  that 
he  was  awake,  and  that  it  was  not  all  a  dream. 
He  stretched  himself  at  full  length,  when  he  was 
dressed,  and  surveyed  himself  in  a  pier-glass  with 
satisfaction,  noting  the  new  color  in  his  face,  the 
brightness  of  his  eyes,  and  the  calm  expression  of 
his  features. 

"A  miracle!"  he  exclaimed.  "I'd  swear  I 
had  quaffed  of  the  fountain  of  youth  in  the  night, 
but  that  I  never  moved  after  I  struck  the  bed. 
But,  after  all,  it  is  not  so  strange.  To  win  a  prize 
such  as  Harriet  would  send  the  blood  coursing 
through  the  veins  of  a  Methuselah.  Rich,  and 
successful  in  the  end,  with  the  sweetest  and  fairest 
girl  in  the  world  for  a  bride,  why  shouldn't  I  be 
young  again  ?  It  was  a  long  race  and  a  hard  one, 
but  victors  never  fail  to  recover  from  the  strain; 
it  is  the  vanquished  who  wither  beneath  the  un- 
kind hand  of  fate." 


328  THE    FEDERAL    JUDGE 

The  interview  that  took  place  that  morning  be- 
tween Gardwell,  Skeener,  and  Bass  was  so  short 
and  so  quietly  conducted  that  even  Gard well's 
confidential  clerk,  who  observed  much  and  said 
little,  was  wholly  unaware  of  its  importance. 

The  two  gentlemen  came  together,  and  Gard- 
well greeted  them  with  great  warmth.  Their  re- 
sponse was  formal,  and  Gardwell  noticed  it  in  an 
instant,  and  a  little  smile  showed  at  the  corners  of 
his  mouth. 

He  was  the  first  to  speak  after  they  had  taken 
seats.  He  saw  that  his  two  associates  were  aware, 
or  at  least  strongly  suspected,  that  he  had  looked 
out  for  himself,  and  was  no  longer  interested  in 
the  future  of  the  Trans-American.  He  knew  they 
looked  upon  him  as  a  traitor,  but  he  cared  little 
for  that;  and  as  he  had  not  the  slightest  inten- 
tion of  deviating  from  his  plans,  he  did  not  pro- 
pose to  listen  to  any  upbraidings.  He  had  cut 
adrift,  but  he  had  not  scuttled  their  ship,  and  they 
were  welcome  to  navigate  it  as  best  they  could. 
What  if  he  was  the  sailing  master  ?  He  was  under 
no  contract  to  bring  the  ship  to  port,  and  if  he 
chose  to  make  shift  for  himself  he  had  a  perfect 
right  to.  He  had  no  doubt  but  Bass  would  have 
tossed  him  over  on  a  moment's  notice,  were  it  to 
his  profit  to  have  done  so. 

"Gentlemen,"  he  began,  "I  may  as  well  come 
directly  to  the  point.  I  have  taken  your  advice 
so  often  given;  I  am  going  to  Europe." 

"Gardwell,"  said  Bass,  "I  understand  that  you 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  329 

have  left  us  in  the  lurch;  that  you  have  closed  out 
your  holdings,  and  that  even  now  the  Trine  people 
hold  your  stock  and  bonds." 

"I  beg  pardon,"  replied  Gardwell  quietly,  "did 
I  understand  you  to  say  '  in  the  lurch  '  ?  Who  was 
it  that  put  you  in  control  ?  Who  caused  a  federal 
judge  to  grant  a  receivership  based  on  nothing 
more  than  his  desire?  Who  saved  the  road  from 
the  ruin  threatened  by  a  strike  by  having  that 
same  judge  exceed  the  bounds  which  even  a  willing 
judiciary  of  the  East  had  never  dared  approach? 
And  who  was  it,  when  everything  else  had  failed, 
risked  everything,  yes,  risked  what  was  dearer  to 
him  than  his  life,  to  shield  that  judge  from  a  con- 
demnation that  would  have  reacted  on  the  Trans- 
American  ?  Have  you  forgotten  the  name  of  that 
man?" 

"I  know  you  have  done  much,"  replied  Bass, 
"but"- 

"  Ah,  but "  —  said  Gardwell,  pacing  slowly  back 
and  forth  with  his  hands  clasped  behind  his  back. 
"But  he  followed  the  advice  of  his  associates  and, 
in  doing  so,  simply  took  the  precaution  that  any 
sane  man  would  have  done.  You  both  urged  me 
to  take  this  step." 

"That  is  false!"  cried  Bass. 

"You  are  not  warranted  in  making  such  an 
assertion,"  added  Skeener. 

"Hold  a  bit,"  said  Gardwell  quietly.  "Did 
you  not  both  advise  me  to  take  a  trip  to  Europe  ?  " 

The  two  men  nodded  assent. 


330  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

"Good  enough;  and  pray,  did  you  expect  that 
a  man  would  leave  the  country  for  a  year's  absence 
in  Europe  and  not  settle  up  his  affairs  a  trifle?  I 
supposed,  of  course,  you  expected  as  much  when 
you  repeatedly  urged  me  to  go  away.  Really  it  is 
a  surprise  to  find  you  feeling  as  you  do,"  and 
Gardwell  smiled  blandly. 

"It  is  true,"  he  continued,  before  either  could 
speak,  "that  I  may  have  taken  some  unnecessary 
precaution,  and  I  may  have  been  a  little  sweeping 
in  my  arrangements;  but  when  a  man  takes  unto 
himself  a  wife  and  leaves  his  country  for  a  year  or 
so,  he  should  not  leave  behind  any  business  re- 
sponsibilities likely  to  cause  him  to  neglect  his 
bride.  Besides,  after  the  life  that  I  have  led,  and 
judging  by  the  fears  of  my  two  most  intimate 
friends,  and  my  physician,  for  my  health,  I  had 
resolved  perhaps  never  to  return  to  this  country." 

Bass,  had  risen,  and  Skeener  reached  for  his 
hat.  Both  feared  the  man  whom  they  now  saw 
ready  to  give  them  battle  for  the  first  time ;  they 
had  profited  by  his  prowess,  and  neither  was  in- 
clined to  measure  strength  with  him  now.  But 
Bass  came  of  Down-East  fighting  stock. 

"Elliot  Gardwell,"  he  cried,  his  steel-gray  eyes 
flashing,  and  every  hair  in  his  iron-gray  beard 
bristling,  "you  have  played  the  traitor  to  us,  and 
you  shall  rue  the  day!  " 

"I  said  perhaps  I  would  never  return  from 
Europe,  Mr.  Bass,"  said  Gardwell,  stepping  for- 
ward, and  raising  his  finger  like  a  teacher  admon- 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  331 

ishing  a  wayward  child.  "But  enough  of  this, 
gentlemen,"  he  added,  suddenly  changing  his  tone. 
"I  have  arranged  affairs  so  that  you  need  suffer 
no  inconvenience  by  reason  of  my  absence,  and  all 
the  papers  bearing  on  the  Trans- American  road, 
and  everything  else  in  which  we  were  interested, 
will  be  delivered  to  you  by  Boylston.  He  will 
act  as  my  agent  here  while  I  am  where  both  of 
you  so  often  counseled  me  to  go." 

He  opened  the  door,  and  bowed  them  out. 

Left  to  himself,  he  turned  back  to  his  desk  and 
seated  himself  in  his  old  office  chair.  The  same 
spirit  of  contentment  and  peace  and  rest  that  he 
had  wakened  with  was  with  him  still.  He  lighted 
a  cigar,  and  the  fragrance  of  the  Havana  surprised 
him.  He  leaned  back  in  his  chair  and,  looking 
into  the  bluish  clouds  that  floated  in  wavy  lines 
before  his  eyes,  he  saw  himself  and  Harriet  at  the 
altar.  He  heard  the  swelling  tones  of  the  wedding 
march.  He  heard  her  vows  and  took  his  own. 
They  stood  together  at  the  wedding  reception,  they 
were  on  the  train,  they  drove  from  the  depot  to 
the  great  hotel,  they  were  in  their  room  together, 
husband  and  wife,  Harriet  and  himself.  The  nup- 
tial couch  was  by  their  side,  he  felt  her  arms  about 
his  neck,  and  the  perfume  of  her  warm  breath  was 
in  his  nostrils  — 

His  clerk  stood  beside  him,  and  laid  a  card  on 
the  desk.  He  waved  his  hand  to  the  clerk  to  go, 
but  the  effort  aroused  him  a  trifle,  and  he  glanced 
at  the  bit  of  pasteboard  and  read  the  name  on  it. 


332  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

"Delia  Windrift." 

And  in  that  moment  the  blood  froze  in  the  veins 
of  Elliot  Gardwell.  He  became  as  if  turned  to 
marble,  his  every  muscle  strung  and  his  eyes  start- 
ing from  their  sockets  as  they  remained  fixed  in 
a  staring  gaze  on  that  name. 

The  clerk  had  gone,  and  said  to  the  owner  of 
the  card :  — 

"Mr.  Gardwell  will  see  you  in  a  few  moments." 

After  a  while  the  clerk  ventured  back  into  the 
room,  and  the  noise  of  his  steps,  light  as  they 
were,  broke  the  charm  and  released  Gardwell  from 
his  horrible  trance. 

He  turned  his  face  toward  the  trusty  clerk  and 
tried  to  speak,  but  there  was  only  a  rattle  in  his 
dry  throat.  The  clerk  hastily  drew  a  glass  of 
water  from  the  cooler  and  gave  it  to  him.  He 
clutched  the  glass  and  swallowed  the  contents  with 
a  gulp. 

"Shall  I  call  Dr.  Black?"  asked  the  frightened 
clerk. 

"Not  a  word,  Benson,"  said  Gardwell  in  a 
hoarse  voice,  grasping  the  arm  of  the  young  man. 
"Not  a  word.  It 's  simply  one  of  my  attacks,  but 
no  one  must  know  of  it.  Tell  the  woman  I  cannot 
see  her  to-day.  No ;  hold  on ! "  he  said  in  a 
hoarse  whisper,  for  the  thought  came  to  him  that 
she  might  force  her  way  in  and  create  a  scene. 
"  Tell  her  I  cannot  see  her  at  present,  for  there  are 
gentlemen  with  me  now.  Tell  her  it  will  be  sev- 
eral hours.  Get  her  to  go  away,  Benson.  Get 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  333 

her  away,  and  you  shall  have  five  hundred  dollars. 
But  no;  simply  tell  her  I  am  busy  with  several 
gentlemen,  and  will  see  her  as  soon  as  they  are 
gone." 

Much  marveling,  the  young  man  returned  and 
gave  his  message.  "Very  well,"  replied  the  wo- 
man, seating  herself  in  one  of  the  chairs  reserved 
for  those  who  waited,  "I  am  in  no  hurry,  but  I 
must  see  him.  It  is  imperative." 

Left  alone  again,  Gardwell  rose  to  his  feet,  and 
staggered  to  the  middle  of  the  room.  He  tried  to 
draw  himself  together  and  to  control  his  thoughts. 
His  whole  body  was  shaken  by  a  vibration  that 
was  uncontrollable,  and  every  muscle  twitched  and 
jerked.  His  thoughts  wandered,  and  he  was  un- 
able to  concentrate  them  for  an  instant.  The 
merest  trifles  came  into  his  head;  but  when  he 
drove  them  out,  nothing  came  to  fill  their  places 
beyond  the  one  great,  horrible  thought  that  the 
one  person  in  the  world  whom  he  feared  was  wait- 
ing just  outside  the  door.  She  could  ruin  him 
with  a  word.  He  tried  to  reason  with  himself, 
but  his  thoughts  resolved  themselves  into  a  gro- 
tesque tangle.  Did  she  know  who  he  was?  Was 
she  aware  of  his  identity?  If  she  knew  it  was  he, 
would  she  have  sent  a  card  in?  No.  Then  it 
was  chance  —  the  deadly  hand  of  fate  that  Mc- 
Gregor had  spoken  of  had  reached  out  and  stopped 
him.  But  if  she  saw  him,  all  was  lost.  She 
would  know  him,  he  was  sure.  He  thought  of 
cutting  off  his  mustache  with  his  desk  shears. 


334  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

But  what  good  would  that  do  ?  She  would  know 
him  by  his  nose,  his  eyes,  the  shape  of  his  head, 
and,  even  if  he  did  not  look  up,  by  his  voice. 
Like  a  rat  in  a  cage  he  followed  the  walls  around 
the  room  looking  for  a  chance  to  escape.  He 
stopped  in  front  of  one  of  the  windows  and  looked 
down  at  the  ground,  six  stories  below.  He  noticed 
how  odd  the  horses  looked,  shaped  like  flatirons 
and  crawling  along  the  asphalt  pavement  like  bugs 
on  a  plate.  A  great  temptation  came  to  him,  and 
he  calculated  how  much  time  he  would  have  to 
allow  in  order  to  alight  on  the  top  of  a  white  cov- 
ered wagon  that  was  passing  below.  But  a  dizzi- 
ness and  horror  seized  him,  and  he  stepped  back 
from  the  window  with  a  shudder;  he  had  seen 
himself  lying  on  the  top  of  the  wagon  with  a  blood- 
stained face  and  dangling  limbs  bent  into  many 
shapes.  It  was  light,  but  the  room  seemed  to 
grow  dark,  and  he  groped  his  way  to  the  water- 
cooler.  He  drank  first  one  and  then  another  full 
goblet  until  he  had  poured  four  streams  down  his 
burning  throat.  His  head  grew  clearer,  and  he 
felt  stronger.  He  walked  to  his  desk,  and  touched 
the  bell-button.  He  crouched  over  behind  his 
desk  when  the  door  opened  and  Benson  entered. 

"Is  the  woman  still  there?"  he  asked. 

"Yes,"  replied  the  clerk;  "and  she  says  she 
must  see  you  if  only  for  a  moment.  She  says  she 
will  wait." 

"Good  God!"  groaned  Gardwell,  "is  there  no 
way  to  get  her  away?  " 


THE   FEDERAL    JUDGE  335 

"I  might  send  for  a  policeman,"  suggested  Ben- 
son. 

Gardwell  sprang  to  his  feet  and  clutched  the 
young  man  by  the  throat. 

"You  are  a  traitor!"  he  hissed.  "You  are  in 
the  conspiracy!  You  would  ruin  me!  " 

His  strength  suddenly  left  him,  and  his  hold 
relaxed.  Benson  freed  himself  and  assisted  him 
back  to  his  chair,  into  which  he  sank  limp  and 
apparently  lifeless,  with  his  head  dropped  forward 
on  his  breast.  Benson  raised  his  head  and  slowly 
the  color  came  back  to  his  face,  and  he  opened  his 
eyes. 

"I  must  send  for  the  doctor  at  once,"  said  the 
clerk.  "You  are  very  ill,  Mr.  Gardwell." 

Gar  dwell' s  thoughts  were  clearer  now.  In  an 
instant  they  ran  back  over  the  events  of  the  morn- 
ing and  summed  up  the  situation. 

"Not  a  word  to  any  one  about  this,  Benson," 
he  said  sternly.  "I  am  all  right  now.  You  can 
see  for  yourself  that  I  am.  What  kind  of  a  look- 
ing woman  is  she  ?  " 

Benson  gave  a  brief  description. 

"A  woman  in  mourning!  "  exclaimed  Gardwell. 
"It  is  she.  Tell  her  I  am  still  busy.  Do  not 
allow  any  one  to  enter  this  room,  and  do  not  come 
yourself  until  I  ring  for  you.  Now,  one  word 
more,  Benson,  not  a  word  to  any  one  of  what  you 
have  seen;  and  if  you  value  your  position  and 
your  future  welfare,  see  that  my  instructions  are 
obeyed  to  the  letter.  You  may  go." 


336  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

Alone  again  the  old  wild  terror  and  feeling  of 
utter  helplessness  came  over  him.  He  grew  dizzy, 
and  the  room  spun  around  like  a  top.  He  felt 
himself  going  mad,  but  he  closed  his  eyes,  and 
tried  to  master  his  thoughts.  When  he  looked 
again,  the  room  was  still,  very  still,  and  the  silence 
caused  him  a  shock. 

He  said  to  himself,  and  repeated  it  over  and 
over  again :  — 

"There  is  no  escape.     I  have  lost." 

Suddenly  he  made  a  resolve. 

He  picked  up  his  phonograph,  and  carried  it 
to  the  corner  of  the  room  farthest  from  the  door, 
which  he  frequently  regarded  with  apprehension. 
He  placed  a  clean  cylinder  on  the  machine,  drew 
up  a  chair,  and  adjusted  the  receiver.  Then  he 
took  a  long  breath,  and,  holding  the  funnel  close 
to  his  mouth,  he  spoke :  — 

"My  darling  Harriet "  — 

The  sound  of  his  voice  frightened  him,  and  he 
dropped  the  tubing  and  looked  over  his  shoulder 
at  the  door.  But  no  one  came,  and  he  reasoned 
with  himself  that  his  voice  could  not  be  heard, 
muffled  as  it  was  by  the  receiver.  It  was  his  in- 
tention to  send  a  false  message,  to  make  a  lying 
excuse ;  but  as  he  was  about  to  begin  it,  the  thought 
came  to  him :  — 

"Shall  I  die  with  a  lie  on  my  lips?"  for  he 
had  resolved  to  die.  No;  he  would  tell  the  truth. 
He  lifted  the  tube  and  began  again :  — 

"My  dear  Harriet " 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  337 

He  felt  a  choking  sensation.  He  could  not 
breathe,  and  everything  grew  black  before  him. 
He  started  to  his  feet,  still  holding  the  tube  me- 
chanically in  his  hand. 

"My  sins  have  found  me  out!  "  he  cried. 
"Delia!  Delia!" 

He  threw  up  his  hands,  his  body  swayed  for  an 
instant,  and  then  slowly  the  weight  of  the  head, 
which  had  fallen  forward,  carried  it  over,  the  bal- 
ance was  lost,  and  he  fell  face  downward  on  the 
thickly  carpeted  floor.  There  was  a  tremor,  the 
fingers  quivered,  and  Elliot  Gardwell  was  dead. 

The  needle  of  the  phonograph  cut  into  the  waxen 
cylinder  with  a  faint  grating  sound  until  it  had 
reached  the  end,  and  then  all  was  still. 

Benson,  the  clerk,  grew  nervous  as  the  time 
slipped  by  and  he  received  no  summons  from  his 
employer.  The  chairs  were  filled  with  people 
waiting  to  see  the  head  of  several  great  corpora- 
tions. They  sat  there  stolidly  waiting,  each  half 
suspicious  of  the  other,  and  some  of  them  envying 
the  man  whose  stormy  and  joyless  life  had  just 
tragically  ended  in  the  other  room. 

"It  is  possible  that  Mr.  Gardwell  will  not  be 
at  leisure  until  after  dinner,"  said  Benson  to  the 
woman,  inwardly  trembling  at  the  liberty  he  was 
taking  in  even  thus  disregarding  the  letter  of  his 
instructions.  "Perhaps  you  had  better  give  it 
up,  and  come  back  again." 

"Oh,  no,  indeed,"  she  replied,  with  a  smile. 
"A  bird  in  hand,  you  know.  I  have  been  too 


338  THE    FEDERAL    JUDGE 

long  a  newspaper  reporter  to  give  up  when  I  have 
my  game  so  neatly  cornered.  I  am  to  get  an  in- 
terview with  him,  but  that  will  take  only  a  few 
minutes..  Most  of  all,  I  want  to  see  him,  and  get 
a  general  idea  of  what  he  looks  like.  Do  you 
know,  we  cannot  find  that  he  ever  had  a  picture 
taken?  I  am  here  to  get  a  pen  portrait  of  him, 
and  I  am  as  quick  as  a  camera.  Perhaps  you 
could  explain  to  him,  and  he  could  give  me  a  short 
interview.  I  have  got  to  be  back  in  Chiopolis  to- 
night. My  article  will  be  a  Sunday  special  for 
the  '  Forum.'" 

As  it  drew  past  the  noon  hour  a  few  of  those 
who  waited  gave  up  and  left,  but  the  woman 
showed  no  signs  of  uneasiness.  At  last  a  telegram 
arrived,  and  Benson  eagerly  seized  it  as  an  excuse 
to  enter  the  room. 

"I  went  twenty-four  hours  without  eating,  wait- 
ing for  the  verdict  in  the  Snell  divorce  case,"  said 
the  woman,  with  a  little  smile,  as  Benson  passed 
her.  "I  can  do  it  again." 

Benson  closed  the  door  after  him,  and  at  once 
saw  the  prostrate  form  of  Gardwell  on  the  floor. 
Much  frightened,  he  rushed  forward  and  rolled 
the  body  over.  The  ghastly  face  showed  that  life 
was  gone,  and  the  clerk,  with  a  gasp  of  horror, 
shrunk  back.  But  though  he  was  a  young  man, 
his  training  in  Gardwell's  service  was  such  that 
he  lacked  neither  nerve  nor  discretion.  He  hesi- 
tated only  an  instant,  then  turned  and  left  the 
room,  and  his  face  told  nothing  to  those  who  waited 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  339 

outside.  Two  minutes  later  the  higher  officials  of 
the  company  knew  of  the  calamity,  and  several  of 
them  went  into  the  room.  Even  in  the  last  scenes 
attendant  on  the  death  of  this  man  the  discipline 
and  order  maintained  by  those  who  had  served 
under  him  were  a  tribute  to  his  genius  and  his 
methods. 

The  doctor  came  and  made  his  way  into  the 
room;  the  clerk  on  guard  admitted  him  without 
a  word.  There  was  a  hasty  examination,  and  the 
doctor  shrugged  his  shoulders,  and  remarked :  — 

"Just  as  I  feared.  Another  case  of  angina 
pectoris." 

Then  came  the  police  authorities,  the  coroner, 
and  a  string  of  reporters.  The  coroner  and  the 
police  officers  entered;  the  reporters,  despite  their 
clamors  for  admission,  were  kept  out. 

So  quietly  had  all  this  been  done,  that  the  wo- 
man who  had  waited  so  patiently  now  realized  for 
the  first  time  that  something  had  happened.  She 
sought  out  Benson,  who  was  back  at  his  desk, 
writing  telegrams. 

"What  has  happened?"  she  asked. 

"Mr.  Gardwell  is  dead,"  replied  the  clerk. 

"Oh,  isn't  that  dreadful!"  she  exclaimed. 
"It's  too  bad,"  she  added;  "I  have  missed  my 
interview." 

A  man  appeared  at  the  door  and,  shutting  it 
behind  him,  announced  that  he  would  give  all  the 
facts  to  the  press. 

Mr.  Gardwell  had  been  ailing  for  some  time, 


340  THE   FEDERAL    JUDGE 

and  had  intended  to  go  to  Europe  for  his  health. 
He  had  had  one  of  his  attacks  while  alone  in  his 
office,  and  had  passed  away  peacefully  while  sit- 
ting at  his  desk.  His  death  had  been  painless 
and  sudden.  That  was  all.  Could  they  see  the 
body?  No;  it  had  been  decided  that  as  little  as 
possible  should  be  written  about  it.  The  body 
was  being  prepared  to  be  taken  to  an  undertaking 
establishment. 

Delia  Windrift  tried  in  vain  to  get  permission 
to  see  the  body,  even  if  only  for  an  instant.  It 
was  carried  out,  and  the  reporters  for  the  after- 
noon papers  hurried  to  their  respective  offices. 
Delia  lingered,  and  managed  to  get  a  glimpse  of 
the  interior  of  the  room,  but  that  was  all. 

She  telegraphed  for  instructions,  and  was  re- 
solved that  she  would  see  the  dead  man.  Half  an 
hour  later  she  received  a  message  telling  her  to 
get  all  the  facts,  and  take  the  three  o'clock  train. 
It  lacked  ten  minutes  of  train  time,  and  she  obeyed 
orders. 

The  next  day  the  "Forum  "  had  the  best  account 
of  the  sudden  death  of  Elliot  Gardwell.  And  the 
widow  of  Charles  Windrift,  who  only  a  month 
before  had  received  proof  of  his  death  by  drown- 
ing in  Lake  Superior,  never  knew  that  she  had 
thus  written  the  obituary  of  her  husband. 


CHAPTER  XXVII 

THE  sudden  death  of  Elliot  Gardwell  was  the 
closing  episode  in  a  series  of  events  which  he,  as 
chief  actor  in  them,  shaped  and  controlled  with  a 
degree  of  skill  to  which  few  men  attain.  To  those 
whose  lives  were  so  strangely  changed  by  these 
events,  it  was  perhaps  fortunate  that  he  was  re- 
moved from  the  scene  of  action  just  when  he  was. 
Had  he  lived,  complications  most  serious  must 
have  ensued,  and  to  those  who  have  undertaken 
the  task  of  telling  this  story  would  have  been  sup- 
plied a  sufficiently  mysterious  entanglement  and 
a  climax  amply  dramatic  to  satisfy  even  that  vet- 
eran reader  of  novels  whose  morbid  taste  craves 
such  situations.  Without  these,  even,  the  narra- 
tive, though  crude,  is  interesting  as  a  striking 
illustration  of  the  strange  force  of  environment  — 
a  force  strong  enough  in  this  instance  to  transform 
a  sturdy  and  conscientious  champion  of  the  rights 
of  the  masses  into  an  equally  strong  and  honest 
exponent  of  the  rights  of  the  classes  as  against  the 
masses.  Which  of  these  two  positions  was  the 
correct  one?  is  a  question  in  ethics  left  for  the 
reader  to  study  and  decide  for  himself,  bearing  in 
mind,  as  he  pursues  his  deliberations,  that  Judge 
Dunn,  of  Bowerville,  circuit  judge  of  Stallworth 


342  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

County,  was  just  as  sincere  as  Judge  Dunn  sitting 
on  the  federal  bench,  —  no  more,  no  less. 

There  was  a  good  deal  of  the  clay  about  Gard- 
well's  early  villainy,  and  he  was  as  daring  as  he 
was  unscrupulous.  Sparing  the  reader  a  recital 
of  the  details  of  his  licentious  duplicity,  it  is  suffi- 
cient here  to  record  what  the  reader  has  already 
been  able  to  infer,  that  Elliot  Gar  dwell  and  Charles 
Windrift  were  one  and  the  same  person.  Under 
the  name  of  "Charles  Windrift,"  and  in  the  heat 
of  an  early  passion,  he  had  married  Delia  in  New 
York  city.  The  fortunate  speculation  in  stocks 
which  gave  him  his  first  start  toward  wealth,  and 
which  was  followed  in  quick  succession  by  others 
so  fortunate  that  he  speedily  became  a  compara- 
tively rich  man,  occurred  shortly  after  this  mar- 
riage. His  ambition  had  soon  outgrown  his  com- 
panion, who,  despite  her  pretty  face  and  charming 
manners,  could  bring  to  him  no  social  advantages, 
and  he  did  not  confide  in  her  his  good  fortune. 
Instead,  under  the  pretense  of  having  secured  a 
better  position  in  the  West,  he  sent  her  home  to 
her  parents  in  a  Massachusetts  town,  and  came  to 
Malton.  He  had  no  intention  of  ever  seeing  her 
again,  and  he  left  her  with  as  little  compunction 
as  he  had  fear  that  she  would  in  any  way  interfere 
with  his  future  plans.  He  was  not  long  in  the 
West  when  his  passion  for  her  returned,  and  he 
formed  the  plan  which  he  successfully  carried  out 
until  the  moment  when,  by  a  strange  chance,  the 
woman  he  had  wronged  came  to  thwart  him,  just 


THE   FEDERAL    JUDGE  343 

as  he  was  about  to  receive  the  prize  which  was  to 
mark  the  pinnacle  of  his  desire.  He  had  written 
to  her  that  he  had  secured  a  position  in  the  Secret 
Service,  with  headquarters  at  Chiopolis,  and  had 
sent  sufficient  money  for  her  to  come  to  him.  He 
had  fitted  up  a  flat  in  that  city  and  had  there  in- 
stalled her,  explaining  that  the  nature  of  his  occu- 
pation was  such  that  his  identity  must  be  kept  a 
secret,  and  that  he  could  be  with  her  only  on  Sat- 
urday nights  and  Sundays.  To  keep  up  this  char- 
acter, he  had  her  letters  addressed  to  him  at  vari- 
ous cities  in  the  West,  in  care  of  agents  of  his 
company,  and  thence  forwarded  to  him,  so  that  he 
was  ever  ready  to  refer  to  their  contents  when  he 
saw  her,  although  he  never  wrote  any  letters  in 
reply.  His  passion  for  her  did  not  wane  until  the 
day  on  which  he  first  saw  Harriet  Dunn's  girlish 
face  and  figure,  when  a  desire  which  was  never  to 
take  flight  while  he  lived  seized  him. 

What  little  ray  of  good  intent  ever  penetrated 
into  Gard well's  heart  came  from  his  attachment 
for  Harriet,  and  but  for  this  spark  there  is  little 
doubt  but  he  would  have  made  quick  shift  of 
Delia.  And  he  would  have  viewed  her  discom- 
fiture as  complacently  as  would  any  Turk,  who.  to 
be  rid  of  a  member  of  his  harem,  would  have 
sewed  the  superfluous  creature  in  a  sack,  and 
watched  her  disappear  beneath  the  waves  of  the 
Bosporus.  Accordingly,  he  devised  another  method 
which  was  forever  to  remove  from  existence  the 
fictitious  "Charles  Windrift,"  and  provide  for  the 


344  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

widow  sufficiently  to  return  her  to  the  country 
home  of  her  childhood,  and  support  her  for  life. 
He  flattered  himself  she  would  betake  herself 
thither,  to  pass  the  rest  of  her  days  in  a  peaceful 
though  mournful  widowhood.  While  his  affection 
was  shallow,  he  accorded  to  Delia's  a  depth  that 
was  the  other  extreme,  for  Gardwell  had  some  of 
the  weaknesses  of  men. 

The  story  of  Windrift's  drowning  in  the  icy 
waters  of  Lake  Superior,  where  the  dead  never 
come  to  the  surface  to  tell  tales  or  cause  burial 
expenses,  was  his  invention;  and  Stalker,  who 
played  the  role  of  eye-witness  and  carried  out  the 
other  details,  was  the  bearer  of  papers  which  placed 
the  widow  in  possession  of  the  income  her  dear 
husband  had  seen  fit  to  leave  her.  Stalker  was  to 
be  trusted,  for  Gardwell  owned  him,  body  and 
soul,  and  could  have  put  him  on  trial  for  his  life 
in  two  States,  and  besides,  he  was  given  to  under- 
stand that  Charles  Windrift  was  a  distant  relative 
who  had  now  gone  to  Japan,  and  in  whom  Gard- 
well was  interested. 

It  was  Stalker,  however,  who  probably  came 
nearer  to  the  truth  than  any  person,  and  this  is 
borne  out  by  the  fact  that  after  he  had  spent  a 
half  day  in  secret  conference  with  Gard well's  two 
brothers,  he  resigned  his  position  with  the  Trans- 
American,  removed  to  New  York,  and  there  lived 
in  a  manner  indicating  the  possession  of  indepen- 
dent means. 

Strange  to  say,  Gardwell  left  no  will,  and  his 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  345 

fortune  was  claimed  by  these  brothers,  who  came 
on  from  the  East  on  money  advanced  them  by 
their  employers,  for  neither  had  seen  Elliot  or 
heard  from  him  since  they  were  barefoot  boys  to- 
gether on  the  Vermont  hills.  There  was  evidence 
that  he^had  made  a  will  several  years  prior  to  his 
death,  but  this  he  had  probably  destroyed,  for  it 
was  never  found. 

It  was  a  singular  result  of  the  death  of  this 
strange  man  that,  while  there  was  the  utmost  ap- 
prehension on  account  of  his  sudden  removal, 
scarcely  any  friction  or  disturbance  ensued.  Bass 
and  Skeener  seized  the  throttle,  and  guided  the 
Trans-American  through  the  crooked  defiles  and 
dark  tunnels  which  marked  the  way  to  the  termi- 
nus of  their  joint  ambition  with  as  steady  a  nerve 
and  as  much  disregard  for  law  and  equity  as  could 
have  been  expected  of  Gardwell  in  the  days  of  his 
keenest  zest  for  millions.  In  this  they  were  fa- 
cilitated by  the  acquiescence  of  a  federal  judge  in 
whom  favorable  rulings  and  decrees  were  born  of 
a  motive  and  not  from  the  womb  of  conviction, 
even  though  the  conviction  were  a  bastard.  For 
Judge  Dunn,  overwhelmed  and  immeasurably 
shocked  by  the  sudden  death  of  his  friend,  together 
with  certain  disclosures  that  were  forced  upon  him 
as  to  the  true  character  of  Gardwell,  was  taken 
with  a  nervous  disorder  and  resigned  from  the 
bench.  He  was  encouraged  in  this  action  by  Rob- 
ert Emmersley,  who  had  hastened  to  his  side  on 
the  first  news  of  the  judge's  prostration,  some  two 
weeks  after  the  death  of  Gardwell. 


346  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

Upon  this  young  man,  who  was  as  kind  and 
considerate  as  he  was  generous  and  discreet,  fell 
the  management  of  the  affairs  of  the  Dunns.  To 
Harriet  he  acted  as  a  brother,  with  tenderness  and 
quiet  firmness,  which  was  but  a  cloak  for  his  well- 
checked  ardor,  but  which  well-nigh  broke  the  heart 
of  this  tender  young  woman.  Towards  Mrs.  Dunn 
he  showed  all  the  affection  of  a  son,  and  listened 
to  her  wailings  and  faultfindings  with  great  pa- 
tience. But  with  the  weak  old  judge,  he  was 
simply  a  man  of  business,  a  lawyer  looking  after 
his  affairs,  a  fact  of  which  the  judge  took  frequent 
occasion  to  remind  him. 

"I  want  you  to  remember,  Mr.  Emmersley," 
said  the  judge  one  day,  "that  I  am  directing  my 
own  affairs,  and  that  you  are  to  be  fully  recom- 
pensed for  your  services  when  I  am  up  and  about 
again." 

"Certainly,"  replied  Emmersley,  "I  am  keep- 
ing a  careful  account,  and  I  assure  you  that  you 
will  think  I  ask  enough  when  I  turn  in  my  bill. 
I  learned  a  thing  or  two  in  Washington." 

"Yes,"  said  the  old  judge,  "and  I  have  learned 
a  good  deal  in  this  accursed  city.  But,  thank 
God!  I  never  sold  the  old  homestead  at  Bower- 
ville." 

In  settling  up  matters,  Emmersley  learned,  with 
no  small  surprise,  that  Judge  Dunn  had  to  his 
credit  in  Van  Tipple's  bank  the  sum  of  eighty 
thousand  dollars.  He  was  greatly  shocked,  and 
at  once  sought  Van  Tipple,  who,  with  no  hesita- 


THE   FEDERAL    JUDGE  347 

tion,  made  him  acquainted  with  all  the  details  of 
the  strange  deal. 

"I  will  confess  that  I  made  no  such  sum  'of  it 
myself,"  he  concluded,  "but  that  is  the  amount 
that  Gardwell  turned  back  to  me  to  be  placed  to 
the  judge's  credit  after  I  had  made  a  settlement 
with  Gardwell.  I  asked  no  questions,  and  I  do 
not  suppose  you  will.  Gardwell  was  a  strange 
man,  and  I  can  assure  you  that  Judge  Dunn  knows 
as  little  about  it  as  you  did  up  to  a  few  minutes 
ago." 

Emmersley  was  greatly  relieved  by  this  expla- 
nation, and  he  soon  ^afterwards  informed  the  judge 
that  his  affairs  were  in  excellent  condition,  and 
that  there  was  quite  a  sum  to  his  credit  in  Van 
Tipple's  bank,  —  some  thousands  of  dollars,  ample 
in  every  way  to  enable  the  judge  and  his  family 
to  return  to  the  Bowerville  home,  and  there  take 
a  much-needed  rest.  The  judge  had  grown  quite 
feeble,  and  he  showed  no  signs  of  surprise,  con- 
tenting himself  by  saying:  - 

"Very  well,  Emmersley,  whatever  you  think  is 
for  the  best." 

And  so  it  came  that,  in  a  short  time,  the  house 
in  the  city  was  given  up,  and  the  judge,  with  his 
wife  and  daughter,  was  once  more  back  in  the  old 
home.  And  with  them  were  Betsy  and  Eufus, 
both  somewhat  subdued,  but  both  equally  delighted 
at  being  "home"  again. 

Emmersley  came  over  from  his  mother's  house 
the  second  evening  after  they  were  settled.  Har- 
riet let  him  in. 


348  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

"Good-evening,  Harriet,"  lie  said. 

And  she  answered :  — 

"Good-evening,  Robert." 

It  was  so  natural  that  it  seemed  as  if  both  un- 
derstood in  an  instant.  He  held  out  his  arms 
and  there  was  a  pleading  look  in  his  blue  eyes. 
She  seemed  to  droop  a  little  for  an  instant,  and 
then,  without  a  word,  she  half  stepped,  half  fell, 
forward,  and  her  hands  were  on  his  brawny  shoul- 
ders, her  head  on  his  breast.  The  great  long  arms 
closed  in,  and  Robert  Emmersley  held  what  he 
had  never  given  up  hope  of  gaining.  He  had 
asked  her  to  be  his  wife,  and  she  had  promised, 
but  neither  had  spoken  a  word.  He  stooped  over 
and  kissed  her  burning  cheeks  and  stroked  her 
hair. 

"Harriet,  my  darling,"  he  said  softly,  "you 
have  made  me  very  happy,  for  oh,  I  love  you  so. 
There,  there,  don't  tremble,  you  poor  little  thing." 

"It  is  not  for  fear,"  she  whispered,  looking  up. 
"I  love  you,  Robert." 

His  answer  was  a  kiss,  the  first  warm  kiss  of 
love  that  had  ever  touched  her  lips. 

"I  want  you  to  be  a  brave  girl,  and  listen  to 
what  I  have  to  tell  you  without  making  any  out- 
cry. I  am  not  going  to  rob  your  father  and 
mother;  I  take  their  daughter,  but  I  will  return 
a  son  to  them." 

"Brother  Tom!"  were  the  words  that  were  on 
Harriet's  lips;  but  Emmersley  clapped  a  hand  over 
her  mouth,  and,  opening  the  door,  he  put  an  arm 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  349 

about  her  waist  and  stepped  out  on  the  porch  with 
her,  as  if  she  were  a  feather. 

"There,"  he  said,  "disobeying  the  very  first 
thing." 

"Oh,  Robert!"  she  cried,  all  in  a  tremor, 
"have  you  found  him?  Have  you  found  brother 
Tom?" 

"  Come,  little  one,  let  us  take  a  walk.  We  are 
too  near  the  house  to  suit  my  purposes." 

He  slipped  his  arm  around  her  waist,  and  they 
went  down  the  old  walk  together. 

Before  they  returned,  Harriet  had  heard  his 
story,  and  knew  his  plans. 

"To-morrow  night,"  said  Emmersley,  as  he 
kissed  her  good-night.  "Neither  of  them  has  any 
heart  trouble,  I  know  from  old  Dr.  Biddle,  and 
there  will  be  no  danger." 

The  old  judge  was  at  his  table  the  following 
evening,  sorting  some  papers;  Mrs.  Dunn  was 
seated  in  her  rocking-chair,  and  Harriet  was  at 
the  window  peering  out  into  the  darkness. 

"I  hardly  feel  strong  enough  to  go  upstairs  to- 
night," said  the  judge,  "and  when  Mr.  Emmersley 
calls  I  must  ask  you  both  to  retire  and  leave  us 
alone.  We  have  some  business  affairs  to  settle. 
He  has  promised  to  render  the  bill  for  his  services 
to-night." 

There  was  a  rattling  of  the  knocker  on  the  front 
door  as  he  finished  speaking,  and  Harriet  flew  to 
open  it.  It*  was  Emmersley.  He  hung  up  his 


350  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

hat,  snatched  a  kiss  in  the  hall,  and  strode  into 
the  room. 

"Shy lock  is  ready  to  exact  his  pound  of  flesh!  " 
he  exclaimed,  shaking  hands  with  the  judge,  "sev- 
eral pounds,  I  might  say." 

The  judge  looked  up  in  surprise,  and  even  Mrs. 
Dunn  glanced  over  her  glasses  at  him,  so  entirely 
different  was  his  bearing  to-night  from  what  it 
usually  had  been. 

"Ah !  "  he  exclaimed,  glancing  through  the  door- 
way into  the  kitchen,  "and  I  see  our  old  friends 
Betsy  and  Rufus  are  with  us,  as  in  the  good  old 
days." 

"Mr.  Emmersley,"  began  the  judge,  with  a 
show  of  his  old-time  dignity,  weak  as  he  was. 

"I  beg  your  pardon,"  interrupted  the  young 
man,  "but  I  make  bold  to  ask  the  privilege  of 
terminating  our  business  relations  in  my  own  way. 
Will  you  humor  me  to-night  ?  I  ask  it  as  a  special 
favor,  and  it  is  a  part  of  my  bill  for  services." 

"You  have  the  right  to  ask  any  favor  that  I  can 
bestow,"  answered  the  judge  in  a  softened  tone. 

"Very  well,  then,  I  would  like  to  begin  the 
proceedings  by  reading  a  short  selection  which  I 
desire  to  put  in  evidence  in  substantiation  of  the 
claim  I  am  about  to  submit  to  you  for  adjudica- 
tion." 

He  took  from  his  pocket  a  small  leather-bound 
Bible,  opened  it  at  the  book-mark,  and,  clearing 
his  voice,  began  to  read :  — 

"'What  man  of  you,  having  an  hundred  sheep, 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  351 

if  he  lose  one  of  them,  doth  not-  leave  the  ninety 
and  nine  in  the  wilderness,  and  go  after  that  which 
is  lost,  until  he  find  it? 

"'And  when  he  hath  found  it,  he  layeth  it  on 
his  shoulders,  rejoicing. ' ' 

Mrs.  Dunn  began  to  weep  softly,  and  Harriet 
was  by  her  side  soothing  her  and  stroking  her  gray 
hair,  for  it  was  gray  now.  The  judge's  head  was 
bowed,  and  there  were  little  drops  of  water  on  the 
papers  on  the  table  over  which  he  leaned.  Em- 
mersley  continued :  — 

"'And  when  he  cometh  home,  he  calleth  to- 
gether his  friends  and  neighbours,  saying  unto 
them,  Rejoice  with  me;  for  I  have  found  my  sheep 
which  was  lost. ' ' 

Suddenly  the  judge's  head  came  up. 

"Robert  Emmersley,"  he  thundered,  "what  do 
you  mean  ?  Do  you  thus  come  to  mock  over  me  " 

At  that  moment  the  side  door  opened,  and  Betsy 
strode  into  the  room. 

"There's  a  strange  man  been  sneaking  and 
hang-dogging  'bout  the  door  for  nigh  onto  half  an 
hour,  an'  everything  in  the  place  'd  be  stolen  if  it 
wa'n't  fer  me.  I  've  asked  what  he  wanted  twict, 
an'"  — 

"'For  this  my  son  was  dead,  and  is  alive  again; 
he  was  lost,  and  is  found,'  "  cried  Emmersley  in  a 
loud  voice,  and  utterly  regardless  of  a  mixture  of 
parables. 

The  door  was  dashed  open,  and  a  man  sprang 
into  the  room.  Betsy  reached  for  the  tongs  that 


352  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

hung  near  the  fireplace,  the  judge  started  up,  and 
then  dropped  back,  his  face  as  white  as  a  sheet, 
while  Mrs.  Dunn,  with  a  scream,  threw  herself 
into  the  arms  of  the  stranger. 

"Mr.  Thomas  Dunn,  at  home  once  more!" 
shouted  Emmersley,  catching  up  Harriet  and  giv- 
ing her  a  hug  such  as  she  declares  she  had  never 
felt  before  or  since. 

The  subject  of  this  commotion  drew  his  mother 
to  his  breast  with  his  left  arm,  and,  extending  his 
right  hand  over  the  table  to  the  judge,  said,  in  a 
deep  bass  voice :  — 

"Father,  forgive  me.  I  was  wrong,  but  not 
guilty." 

"Tom,  my  own  boy,  Tom!  "  cried  the  old  judge, 
seizing  the  proffered  hand,  and  bursting  into  tears. 
"God  bless  you!  and  God  forgive  me! " 

J-ust  what  was  said  during  the  next  ten  minutes 
nobody  ever  knew,  for  everybody  excepting  Em- 
mersley talked  at  once,  and  he  was  quite  busy 
with  Harriet. 

It  was  Betsy  who  came  to  first.  Hushing  out 
into  the  kitchen,  she  returned,  bringing  a  little 
old  blue-rimmed  plate,  the  pewter  mug,  and  the 
bone-handled  knife  and  fork. 

"There!"  she  cried,  placing  them  on  the  table, 
with  a  pitcher  of  milk  and  a  plate  of  bread  beside 
them,  "there  ain't  a  day  passed  but  what  your 
mother  had  'em  waiting  for  you." 

And  then  it  was  that  the  tears  gushed  from  the 
eyes  of  the  bushy-bearded  man  for  the  first  time 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  353 

in  many  years,  and  again  he  stooped  and  kissed 
his  mother,  while  she  twined  her  poor  old  arms 
about  his  neck. 

"Mr.  Emmersley,"  began  the  judge,  clearing 
his  throat. 

"Oh,  papa,"  cried  Harriet,  "not  'Mr.  Em- 
mersley ' 

"Judge  Dunn,"  said  Emmersley  very  ceremo- 
niously, as  if  addressing  a  court,  "  we  have  a  little 
matter  which  has  not  been  settled.  I  told  you  I 
would  ask  enough  for  my  humble  services,  and  I 
now  do  so.  I  ask  the  greatest  treasure  in  the 
world,  —  I  ask  a  wife." 

He  took  Harriet  by  the  hand  and,  leading  her 
up  in  front  of  the  judge,  they  both  knelt  and 
bowed  their  heads. 

And  then,  just  as  if  it  was  n't  many  hundreds 
of  years  old  and  dreadfully  hackneyed,  the  old 
man  said  in  a  trembling  voice :  — 

"God  bless  you,  my  children.  Take  her,  Em- 
mersley, and  may  she  make  you  a  loyal  and  loving 
wife." 

One  more  word  before  closing,  as  the  preacher 
says.  There  was  little  mystery  connected  with 
the  reappearance  of  Tom  Dunn  at  just  the  time 
when  he  was  needed  most  in  all  the  years  that  he 
had  been  away.  Befriended  by  labor  leaders  who 
were  interested  in  his  case,  from  its  importance  as 
affecting  the  powers  of  'the  federal  courts,  he  was 
kept  from  jail,  and  eventually  from  being  brought 


354  THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE 

to  trial  at  all,  the  federal  authorities  nonsuiting 
the  case.  In  achieving  this  result  Congressman 
Emmersley  was  a  factor,  although  he  had  no  idea 
that  the  Montana  prisoner  was  the  son  of  the  fed- 
eral judge  who  was  at  that  time  his  enemy. 

Dunn  kept  his  secret  well,  and  it  was  not  until 
he  learned  of  his  father's  sickness  that  the  hard- 
ness left  his  heart.  Coming  to  Malton  on  his  way 
to  Chiopolis,  where  he  hoped  to  get  employment 
with  some  railroad,  he  learned  that  Emmersley 
was  looking  after  the  judge's  affairs.  Confident 
that  Emmersley  would  not  recognize,  in  the  bronzed 
and  weather-beaten  engineer  of  a  mountain  run, 
the  little  boy  of  Bowerville,  he  called  on  him  to 
make  some  inquiries  regarding  his  father's  health. 
Emmersley  had  a  rare  gift,  and  saw  at  a  glance 
a  great  resemblance  to  the  judge.  He  pictured  to 
his  visitor  the  feeble  old  man  with  broken  spirit, 
and  then  gradually  led  up  to  the  broken-hearted 
woman  who  had  for  years  mourned  the  loss  of  her 
son.  The  man  gave  a  great  sigh,  and  Emmersley 
saw  his  lips  quiver,  shaded  though  they  were  by 
the  great  mustache  and  the  tawny  beard. 

"You  are  my  man,  Tom  Dunn!"  cried  Em- 
mersley, and  the  man  broke  down  and  wept  like 
a  child.  The  outcome  of  it  was  that  Dunn  agreed 
to  return  home  when  the  old  folks  should  be  settled 
at  Bowerville  in  the  house  where  he  was  born. 
How  well  the  plan  was  carried  out  is  already 
known. 

The  judge  grew  stronger,  and  soon  became  very 


THE   FEDERAL   JUDGE  355 

much  like  his  old  self  before  he  went  to  the  city 
to  be  a  federal  judge.  He  never  talked  about 
Gardwell,  and  seldom  referred  to  any  of  the  events 
that  marked  his  career  in  the  city.  On  questions 
relating  to  labor  and  capital  he  was  extremely 
non-committal,  although  it  was  noticeable  that  he 
gradually  shaped  his  reading,  now  that  he  was 
back  in  Bowerville,  towards  such  publications  as 
leaned  to  the  side  of  the  "masses." 

At  any  rate,  he  bothered  no  one  with  his  opin- 
ions, and  spent  much  of  his  time  studying  butter- 
flies, and  in  fishing.  If  he  had  any  suspicions  of 
the  insincerity  of  Gard well's  love  for  butterflies, 
he  never  gave  evidence  of  it,  but  it  was  considered 
significant,  by  both  Emmersley  and  his  wife,  that 
they  could  obtain  no  trace  of  the  "Black  Witch," 
which  had  suddenly  disappeared  from  the  collec- 
tion. 

That  he  knew  more  about  certain  matters  than 
he  showed  in  his  talk  was  afterwards  proven. 
Speaking  to  his  son  Tom,  one  day,  he  said :  - 

"Ah,  Tom,  how  could  you  grow  so  cruel  as  to 
let  your  mother  grieve  for  you  all  those  years?  " 

"I  don't  know,  myself,  father,  how  I  could 
have  done  it,"  replied  Tom,  with  eyes  cast  down. 
"It  must  have  been  my  surroundings." 

"Ay!  "  cried  the  judge,  with  a  start,  "that  was 
it,  boy.  Nobody  knows  any  more  than  I  about 
the  force  of  " 

And  there  he  stopped. 


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LIBRARY,   UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA,  DAVIS 

Book  Slip-Series  458 


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Lush,    C.K. 

The  federal  judge 


PS2351 

L47 

F4 


LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
DAVIS 


